Metroid Prime Hunters: The Hunt for True Power
by tracefan
Summary: Part 1 of a trilogy. A sequel to MPH with all the hunters. A year after MPH, another message points the way to a power greater than the Ultimate Power.
1. Introduction

Metroid Prime: Hunters

_The Hunt for True Power_

The Omega Cannon was dubbed 'the Ultimate Power' referring to a power stronger than anything else. With powers no other could rival. 7 hunters sought it, but only one seized its powers, protecting it from those whose motives were misguided, or sinister. Samus Aran possessed the cannon, and so intended to bring peace to the universe with its power. For a year, all was well, aside from the added need to avoid rival hunters, especially the 6 encountered in the Tetra galaxy. However...there was rumored to be another item of greater power than the Omega Cannon. An item that would bring the universe to its knees. The True Power. Like the Ultimate Power, it had been secretly sealed, but unlike the Alimbics, there were no records of its existence. The people who sealed the True Power had done it so none would learn of it, or unravel the secret of its history. Unfortunately...they didn't prepare for the ultimate outcome. Who could have predicted that somehow, the secret would be uncovered. That the 6 who had always searched for power would receive a cryptic clue.

"_The True Power is at the Gem Ruins. 7 keys...find them to unlock the True Power. 7 keys...True Power...the Gem Ruins"._

Samus hurried to her ship. Figures. She would be late in hearing about the cryptic message. No doubt any others who heard it were already ahead of her. Oh well. She worked at disadvantages before, and still completed the mission. This time, her mission was more specific. The True Power, and the Omega Cannon itself must be destroyed. Alone, the Cannon was formidable and useful, but a threat. If another power could conquer it, it must not exist. The Federation had considered the cannon's usefullness, and decided the risk of allowing its continued existence outweighed its value.

If Samus ever lost possession of it, the universe and all stability would be destroyed. So Samus was allowed the cannon on the mission, but was told to destroy it during or after the mission. The growing fear that the other rival hunters might get it weren't baseless. Sylux had attacked a Federation base, and only barely missed the carrier that had been assigned to transport the cannon. After that incident, Samus was given the cannon for safekeeping, as she alone could be trusted and keep Sylux at bay, since she was a target of Sylux. Samus had reluctantly agreed to destroy the cannon, although she questioned whether it would be a wiser move to keep it, for it could save millions, or destroy millions.


	2. The Beginning

The Gem Ruins was a large cavern surrounded by the remains of a demolished city. Whether time or war was the cause was uncertain, perhaps a combination of both. In most areas, all that remained of building were crumbling walls that still could hide people from view. Because of this feature, the area in front of a nearly blank stretch of wall in the cavern was somewhat intimidating, and the flames lighting the area flickered, casting dark shadows across the walls and floor.

But Spire was not afraid. He was a Diamont, the last of them. His rock body had golden spikes protruding from his back, and his Magmaul weapon was equipped. Despite his lack of fear of the location and ominous shadows, he still had the feeling of being watched. Whenever he looked behind him, there was nothing, and he wasn't so paranoid as to search the place. He knew he wasn't alone at the ruins. After all, he knew he wasn't the only one to receive the message referring to the True Power. If it were true, and there was a power greater then the Omega Cannon...it may be his chance to gather more information. The ruins of an unknown race, although frightening in similarities to the Alimbic Cluster, may provide hints to what happened to the Diamonts. His gaze landed on small pile of rubble. Upon closer examination, the rubble was really a pile of ancient tablets written in an odd language Spire had never seen. After sorting them, a strange mark on the nearby wall caught his eyes. The mark was shaped like a crystal, and 7 of them were etched on the wall in a semi-arc. Spire's eyes widened in realization. The sealed door was probably there, and all 7 keys might unlock it! However, his moment of joy vanished. He had 0 keys, and no idea where the keys were. He returned to examining the tablets.

Kanden, a mutated experiment and also a rival hunter, poked his head out from behind the stone wall where he had been spying on Spire for the last hour. So, Spire had found a clue? Kanden grinned to himself. It hardly mattered who found the clue. Kanden would claim the True Power and prove his superiority over all other hunters. It was his destiny, and Kanden would then claim the Omega Cannon as well, combining the two most powerful objects in the universe. Only the true strongest hunter could accomplish that.

Briefly caught up in his daydream, he failed to immediately notice Noxus, a rival hunter who believed in justice, sneaking behind him. Noxus had his Judicator ready, for he didn't trust the embodiment of evil he had snuck behind. Although Noxus' intentions were not immediately hostile, he still planned on winning any confrontation. However, Kanden noticed a shadow on the ground in front of him. Realizing the danger, he whirled around, firing a charged Volt Driver blast directly into Noxus' chest, knocking him back off the mountain of rubble he had ascended, and blurring Noxus' vision. Instinctively, Noxus fired his Judicator wildly, where it bounced off a wall and hit Spire, who bellowed in shock and anger.

Spire rolled into his Dialanche, a rock ball with spikes, and rolled behind the rubble wall, striking the still blurred Noxus, sending him flying into the nearby wall. Moaning, Noxus slumped to the ground, severely weakened. Spire returned to biped, failing to notice Kanden transform into the slug-like Stinglarva and slither away. Spire walked back to the tablets, all thoughts of Noxus gone. What if the tablets told about the 7 keys, or a history of the True Power, or even what happened to the Diamonts?

Kanden returned to biped and was immediately struck by a burst of green energy.

"Well, well...Kanden is it?" Weavel, the cybernetic Space Pirate sneered, clutching the powerful Battlehammer weapon.

Kanden didn't respond. Weavel grabbed Kanden roughly with his powerful grip and flung him over his shoulder into the cavern wall. "What did you find here, Worm-Boy?" Weavel demanded coldly, voice shaking with anger and excitement.

"Go look for yourself!" Kanden challenged, face contorted with pain. Weavel studied him for a moment, then pressed the Battlehammer against Kanden's head.

"Do it...you'll be blown to bits too!" Kanden hissed without a trace of fear. "Or...you can work with me. Together, we can claim the power and rule the universe. You'd command the pirates, and I'll prove my power! Or insist on the foolish rivalry between us, and die along with everyone else when I get the True Power!" Kanden twisted out of range of the Battlehammer and Weavel thought for a moment.

"Agreed. We'll work to find the 7 keys and claim the power together!" Weavel laughed. Kanden nodded and they parted, each one planning their triumphant rise to power and the downfall of everyone that resisted them!


	3. The Plot Thickens

Samus studied her computer. Her radar seemed like it was malfunctioning, for she had just passed an asteroid and nothing had shown up. If her radar was down, that meant she could be attacked and not realize until...her ship shook violently. She glanced behind her and say the Delano 7, Sylux's ship, swooping down from behind the asteroid she had passed, firing wildly, but not inaccurately. Sylux had a bizarre grudge against both the Federation, and her, and was always trying to kill her or seize the Omega Cannon, no doubt with the intention of killing her with it.

Thinking quickly, she jerked the control stick and pulled back, causing her ship to jerk upwards, doing a loop. Sylux followed her every move, his unceasing barrage of plasma bursts barely missing, or otherwise shaking her ship. "Shields weak, only 21" said her computer's automated voice.

"Great. Try this!" Samus muttered tapping 2 buttons.

"Missile Cannons on, targeting Delano 7...preparing to fire." Samus pressed the firing button, and a missile fired forward, then looped backwards to follow Sylux's craft. A small explosion and Sylux's weapons were momentarily shut down, due to the design flaw of the stolen prototype. Samus focused her full attention on accelerating from the dazed Sylux and lost the ship shortly afterwards.

"Rival hunters detected!" her computer reported, revealing the picture of Sylux, Weavel, and Noxus. "My radar is back...and Sylux is on the planet? Then how did the Delano 7 track me?" she wondered, bewildered. It also confirmed her theory that her rivals had gotten there before her. She quickly assessed the situation. She knew nothing of what was ahead, and didn't want to reveal herself to her rivals yet, so she landed a kilometer from the cavernous entrance near a ruined city. As she exitted her ship, she felt a chill. It was not the temperature, which was quite warm, but more an instinct, a warning of danger. She tried to ignore it, considering its prescence because of the knowledge of at least 3 rivals already in the ruins.

Kanden returned to biped, and considered attacking Samus. How predictable she, the possessor of the second most dangerous weapon, next to the True Power, would come to seek it. No matter, like at Tetra, she might do the work and Kanden take the credit. This time, there would be no Gorea to incapacitate him. He leapt onto the ledge where Samus had docked her ship and methodically placed a small bug-like device. This tracer would give him her warp signature every time she traveled. Smirking coldly, he exitted the small cave and returned to the Gem Ruins. Samus would never know he was there. He morphed back to Stinglarva and slithered back to the ruins. If Spire had found a clue, Kanden wanted to have some action, even if most work was done by others.

Spire still had made no progress at deciphering the tablets. Normally, he would have smashed them long ago, but he knew that the power might be lost forever, all clues at this site gone. He sensed another's prescence and charged his Magmaul, whirling around as he did so. Weavel had entered the chamber, his Battlehammer pointed somewhat cautiously at Spire.

"What do you want?" Spire asked, aggressively. Weavel ignored the Magmaul.

"Merely looking at the infamous Gem Ruins. Quite the tourist attraction." Weavel sneered.

Spire was momentarily confused. Weavel chuckled malevolently. "Spire, you giant boulder. I too want the True Power. Don't worry, it'll be the Alimbic Hunt all over again. Except this time, Samus will lose!" Spire didn't respond.

"We have no grudges on the table, Spire. Don't start one now. If we hunters all cooperate, we can then all find the clue faster. Rather than spend hours and then making the hunt a giant chase, we should all start on even ground. Afterwards..." Weavel paused for dramatic effect. He leaned closer, speaking in a cold whisper. "...it's every hunter for themselves! So what do you say? Spend hours deciphering the Crystal Tablets, or share the knowledge of their existence and have help trying?"

Weavel studied Spire for a moment and studied one of the tablets a moment. "You realize that's tablet 4 right? Right there's the number 4, so always look at #1 first!" Weavel turned and vanished behind the corner, exploring another tunnel. Spire struggled to understand what Weavel had wanted. Could Weavel be trusted? Could he afford not to? If he refused, Weavel might attack him and steal the knowledge. All hunters cooperate? Apparently, Weavel knew more than Spire about the wherabouts of the other hunters. Until then, Spire had thought only Noxus had been at the Ruins. Which others were here? What did they know?

Weavel smirked. With Kanden and Spire cooperating with him, 3/7 of the hunters info was his (including his own). 3x the firepower, but Weavel had no intention of sharing the True Power. If Kanden believed he would, then Kanden was the world's greatest, all right, the world's greatest moron. Weavel reached the end of the tunnel, and saw with shock, Samus' ship docked. Samus was already here? He then noticed a small device latched to the ship. A tracer. Kanden's doing, no doubt. With Kanden as an ally, Weavel had a new advantage. To be able to track the hunter with the Ultimate Power, and eventually take it for his own!

Revenge against the hunter that dishonored him, and cursed him with the weak existence, dependant on the mechanical body rather than his own flesh. Useful as his attachment was, it still gave Weavel a sense of weakness. A dependency on machines. The weakness had not been overlooked by some Pirate Generals. He had been temporarily suspended for killing a general who dared mock him. He would kill Samus and redeem his status by seizing both of the greatest powers the universe had ever seen!

Sylux received a message from the Delano 7. 'Samus has escaped. Last sighted near the Gem Ruins. Radar jamming successful.' Sylux silently fumed. His ship was not as powerful without him controlling it, but how else was he to intercept rivals? He knew Spire and Weavel were here, as Weavel had passed his hiding spot and then talked to Spire. Sylux had failed to overhear the conversation, but Weavel and Spire had both examined the tablets Spire had found.

It had taken a lot of willpower to overcome his urge to fry them both with his Shock Coil and take the tablets. However, 2 vs 1 weren't the best odds against rival hunters. Only Samus had ever taken out 2 rival hunters at once in a 3 man free for all. After taking the True Power, Sylux would be able to take on 6 rival hunters, killing Samus and then the Federation. No one could match him. Samus had escaped due to luck and a fluke. He really had to fix the flaw in his Delano 7. He climbed a moutain of rubble and stood, watching for signs of Samus. She wouldn't escape him this time. Sylux would fry her to a crisp, drain her life energy and then destroy all his enemies with the Omega Cannon or the True Power. It was only a matter of time before the world would say his name with fear. He noticed a solitary figure up on the mountain. He signaled his Delano 7. If the figure was Samus, she had no chance against a spaceship while out of hers!

The real action hasn't started yet, but you'll get a taste in the following chapters


	4. The First Clue

Samus stood on the ledge overlooking the Gem Ruins. She was uncertain if only 3 rivals were here, because of the radar jam she had experienced. If Sylux was here, he probably already knew by now that she was here as well. She stared at the demolished city, wondering how it had come to be like this. She was reminded of the Alimbic cluster, notably Alinos, where there were only remnants, and no perfect record of how it had come to be. Gorea had been the cause of the destruction of the Tetra galaxy. Could something worse, or similar to Gorea have occurred here as well? Most crumbled structures appeared to have been ruined by time, but some had unmistakable signs of damage and devastation.

Tearing her thoughts from the destruction, she pondered where to proceed. It wasn't her nature to have others do the work, but she needed clues to work on. 7 keys? Reminded her still of octoliths that sealed Gorea. Shaking herself a moment, she glanced around, and her heart sank. The Delano 7 had swooped down upon her, the powerful plasma bursts flying around her. She crouched to avoid a few, but one struck the ground an inch from her feet, knocking her off the cliff. It was at least a 300 foot drop.

She struggled to cling to the wall, but it was perfectly smooth. She could feel herself accelerating to her doom, and struggled to equip a weapon to help. As luck would have it, she activated her grapplebeam, which had a secure grip on the wall, however temporary. The grip released, but she continued to fire it at the wall, allowing a safe descent. At the bottom, she rolled into her morph ball and rolled into a small hole. The Delano 7 soared down after her, but failed to find her. After a few moments, she saw the blue and yellow boots belonging to Sylux. She froze, frightened. If he saw the hole, he could have the Delano 7 destroy the portion of the cliff and uncover her. There was no escape from an attack like that.

Sylux walked hurriedly to the spot the Delano 7 had soared down to. He had seen Samus fall, but not land. Yet there was no way to survive a fall like that! He turned the corner, hoping to see the crushed and lifeless body of his enemy. There was nothing. He stared at the spot the body should of been and was confused. Had Samus survived? How badly was she injured? He walked further on. Perhaps she had survived and had tried to escape, as the Delano 7 had pursued her down here. He sensed that she was still alive.

Shaking with rage, he stormed away. "I'LL FIND YOU SAMUS!" He flew up in his Delano 7. She couldn't hide forever, and he wanted to be the one to end her existence. There was no escaping him. He would use all his tracking abilities to find her and the confrontation would be the last. For now, he'd focus on claiming the True Power, and she'd have to emerge eventually. No one could evade Sylux for long!

Samus waited another minute before boosting out of the hole and rolling at top speed to the Gem Ruins. Sylux was perhaps one of her most terrifying rivals. Him, Weavel, and Kanden, as all 3 were vengeful and insane. She rolled into biped and hid behind a crumbled wall, her arm cannon pointing at the wall, prepared in case of ambush. She peeked behind the corner and saw Spire turn his attention to a tunnel nearby, and when he left, she raced to the area he had been studying. A smal pile of rock tablets lay, arranged by numbers 1-7. Each was written in an odd language, but two lines were English on tablet #1.

"_The keys unlock the code. One rests with the dirt of time_". She blinked under her helmet. It was a clue...but incredibly vague. She studied the others carefully before scanning each and downloading the data to her computer. She flipped the #1 tablet over, hoping for more data and noticed a large hole in the shape of a crystal. A line of text over it said 'Unlock the language of the Ancients'. Samus moaned softly. The tablets could be decoded by placing one of the keys in the slot. She then turned to see the wall Spire had been 'guarding'. 7 crystal icons were carved in a semi-arc. "The door to the Power!" she whispered.

Then she felt a hostile presence. She turned and saw Kanden leering at her. "Hello Samus!" Kanden sneered raising his Volt Driver. Samus immediately aimed her arm cannon at Kanden, loading her missiles.

"Standoff?" Kanden whispered. Samus could hear the trace of mock in his voice. Admittedly, Kanden had the upper hand, as his Volt Driver woud home in on her, and her location was too cramped to dodge. Her missiles would track him, but he could duck behind one of the piles of rubble. Kanden nodded, as if able to sense her thoughts.

"So...give me the Omega Cannon, and you'll live to fight me for it back!"

"Or fight now and keep it, giving me an advantage instead of a disadvantage!" Samus challenged.

Kanden's grin widened. "As you wish!"

Before he could fire, Samus released an Omega Cannon burst and shot her grapple hook at the mouth of the cave Spire had entered, pulling herself out of harm's way. She didn't look back, but fled into the cave. A burst of light and a loud bang and whoosh sound. She heard Kanden's yell of shock and rage, and then realized the stupidity of her move. Every hunter now knew she was there. She was targeted badly in the past due to the cannon, but soon every one of the hunters would close in on her and there would be no escape.

Sylux let out a shocked yell. His radar had picked up a massive energy source from the Gem Ruins. The energy signal...came from the Omega Cannon! Samus had survived, and she had foolishly fired her Omega Cannon. DId she think she could blast open the doors to the True Power? Or was it something else, bait so she could ruin his life or end it? Didn't matter to him. Samus would die by his hand, and the Cannon would be his!

Weavel heard the explosion and saw the light burst. Kanden let out a bellow of anger. So...Samus was here...and fired the cannon? What fool's game was she playing? The Omega Cannon, being a weapon of mass destruction and used as a last resort, was not something stealthy, and therefore foolish to use in the one place where her greatest rivals were located. What a fool she was. Now time to destroy her and claim the cannon. No one would stand in his way, and Samus' death was approaching!

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.


	5. The Road Opened

Spire turned around. The flash had been so bright it had reached him, even in the depths of the cave. That flash meant one thing. Samus was at the Ruins, and she had fired the Omega Cannon. He realized he never should have left the tablets. He could hear frantic footsteps echoing and he instinctively raised his Magmaul. Moments later, Samus barreled past him as if he wasn't there, a reaction he had never received before.

Thoroughly confused, he glanced down the passage she had fled from. 3 figures were pursuing! Kanden was slithering in Stinglarva, Weavel was in biped running, and Sylux was pursuing in Lockjaw. Spire stuck out his rock foot to block their path. The reaction was predictable. All 3 hunters stood in biped, weapons pointed at Spire. "Step aside Boulderman!" Weavel hissed. Sylux didn't bother doing it any politer and fired his Shock Coil, feeling Spire's energy drain to heal himself. Spire seemed indifferent, but as the voltage increased he gasped and fell to his knees. Sylux continued until Kanden charged his Volt Driver and blasted Sylux into the wall, where his vision blurred. Nodding to Weavel, Kanden and Weavel hurried down the passage, leaving the two weakened hunters moaning on the ground. Sylux recovered first and signaled the Delano 7 to pick him up.

"Let that be a lesson to you Rockhead! Next time, your little Bugbreath friend won't help you!" Sylux sneered as he exitted the cave and flew overhead, tracking Samus.

Noxus paused his exploration once he saw the Omega Flash. Samus was here, and she was probably using the Cannon for evil! Of all the hunters, he had always thought Samus was the most righteous, so why was she using the cannon? The only justified time she should ever have used the Omega Cannon was against Gorea. So why was the Cannon fired? Noxus absentmindedly stared in the direction the flash originated from. Perhaps Samus had a reason to use the weapon, something Noxus did not know. Was there a clue to the True Power? Noxus spun into his Vhoscythe and spun towards the Ruins. He would personally see to the defeat of all evildoers. When he reached the area of the Ruins where Spire and Kanden had attacked him, he immediately noticed that the area was deserted.

Returning to biped, Noxus decided to examine the tablets Spire had obsessed over. He tried to read the text, but only tablet #1 was part English. "Hmmm...keys unlock the code, one lies with 'the dirt of time'?" Noxus hated riddles, although this one was obvious. "Ha! Bet no one else explored the Crystal Graves!" Noxus muttered. The Crystal Graves was to the west of the Ruins, where a cemetary stood. Noxus had not registered the clue at the graves at the time, but he remembered one gravestone, larger than the others, marked 'Dirt of time, conceal what is below.' Noxus had assumed that meant a dead body, but now suspected that the first Gem Key was hidden there. He smiled and ran towards the Crystal Graves. With the key, he could decipher the remainder of the tablet.

Samus exitted the tunnel at the other end. Fortunately, it wasn't a dead end, or she would be in trouble. The new room seemed to be an extension of the Gem Ruins, as a similiar amount of destruction and decay existed here. She hurried to find a vantage point where she could see her pursuers. Before she could, Battlehammer blasts were fired at a rapid rate, green energy explosions spread throughout the ruins. Weavel and Kanden entered, immediately splitting up to increase the search range. Samus noticed a series of small platforms leading to a cave about 20 feet above her current location and she leapt to the first platform. "There she is!" Kanden yelled, firing Volt Driver blasts with astounding accuracy. She barely avoided them, and leapt to the second platform. A Battlehammer bolt hit the platform she had been on a moment before. Samus leapt to the 3rd, and Kanden fired a charged bolt, which hit her, causing her to cry out as her progress was halted. No way was she jumping platforms with blurred vision.

Her mind was changed when she heard Weavel let out a yell of triumph and she leapt in the direction of the 4th platform, firing her grappling beam upwards. As luck would have it, the beam caught hold of the ceiling, and she used it to swing to the 5th platform, bypassing the 4th all together. Kanden yelled in rage and Weavel let out a sound resembling Ridley's bellow of pain. Samus' vision corrected and she entered the cave. It led to a cavern overlooking a graveyard. "The Crystal Graves!" she said, after reading a sign. _One lies with the dirt of time._ "The graveyard has the first key?" she mused. She fired a missile at the entrance to the cave she had come from, and a small rockslide sealed the entrance. That would hold her pursuers for a few minutes, she thought.

Noxus entered the graveyard and smiled as the silhouette of the grave he was looking for came into view. He approached the stone and studied it. It would be almost demonic to blast the tomb apart, so there must be a different wa to open it. Near the base was inscribed: "_The Dirt of Time." _Noxus paused. "How do I get in?" he muttered. As if waiting for him to ask, the stone moved aside, revealing a starway. "Why couldn't this happen the first time?" he grumbled. "You didn't want to get in then!" a cold voice sneered. A beam of light struck Noxus in the chest and he let out a dull moan before collapsing. The voice laughed as Noxus' vision went black.

Samus was searching for a clue in the graves when she stumbled unexpectedly. Noxus was lying on the ground, unconscious and wounded. Concerned, she examined the wound and put a medicine on it. Noxus moaned feebly.

"Noxus! What happened?" Samus whispered urgently.

"The first lies with the dirt of time...below the grave...here." he said deliriously. Samus studied the stone he had gestured to. Inscribed at the base was written "The Dirt of Time". "What's here? Below the grave?" she whispered to herself. The grave stone moved aside and Samus stared in awe at the staircase. Noxus was slowly recovering, but still too weak.

"Be careful...someone's in there!" Noxus whispered, but Samus hadn't heard. She walked down the steps and followed a flame-lit corridor.

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	6. The First Gem Key

Weavel and Kanden entered the tunnel Samus had escaped through.

"Hurry! She'll get away!" Weavel ordered. Kanden shot him a malevolent look. They crashed into a wall of rubble.

"What the hell?!" Weavel bellowed.

"Dead end?" Kanden whispered.

"No...it's recent. Curse you Samus!" Weavel roared in imitation of Ridley.

"How do you do that?" Kanden asked, looking uneasy.

"I'm a former Space Pirate General! Ridley and I have been in several battles. Funny how everyone freaks out when I do that!" he added with a cruel laugh.

Kanden equipped missiles and Weavel and him blasted at the wall until a small hole appeared. Kanden lashed out with a powerful punch...and had almost no effect. Then a plasma burst flew from behind them and struck the wall, knocking them backwards as the wall exploded. Weavel hissed in fury as the Delano 7 swooped in front of them, through the passage.

"Next time...I'll aim at you two if you ever interfere again!" Sylux threatened. Grumbling, the two hunters entered the cavern.

"The graveyard?" Weavel muttered.

"Crystal Graves...this the sector that fool Noxus had explored!" Kanden whispered.

"Him, you mean?" Weavel asked, pointing at the still weak Noxus.

"Yeah, that's him!" Kanden said, charging his Volt Driver.

"Iceface! Yo, Iceface!" Weavel bellowed. Noxus flinched, but didn't respond.

"Where's Samus?" Kanden asked, pointing the Volt Driver at Noxus.

"Like I'd tell you unworthy criminals!" Noxus retorted. Kanden's face contorted with rage.

"Tell us...or you die!" Weavel hissed.

"Maybe this will convince him!" Sylux sneered, appearing from behind two graves. He fired his Shock Coil at Noxus, who writhed in agony. The Coil was fired only a few seconds.

"Well?" Sylux demanded.

"I'm not telling!" Noxus said, clearly terrified. The hunters stared at each other incredulously. Then Kanden grinned.

Spire had recovered from Sylux's ruthless attack and was trying to figure out where the hunters had gone. At the end of the tunnel was another set of ruins and a cave 20 feet above. Rolling into Dialanche, Spire climbed the wall and dropped from the top of the cavern into the cave. Moments later, he emerged at the Crystal Graves. Why had all the hunters gone here? Did it have to do with the True Power. Noxus had explored this area. The Dirt of Time. the phrase jumped out at him. The first key was hidden here! Why hadn't he thought of here before? Oh yeah, he was too busy trying to decipher Ancient Text!

He heard a scream and turned. Sylux, Weavel, and Kanden where attacking Noxus. 3 on1? What sick joke was this?

"Where is she Iceface?!" Weavel was screaming while Kanden and Sylux would fire their electricity weapons. Torture? That was against most hunter Codes of Honor. Or at least Samus, Noxus, and Spire himself had it in their Code of Honor. Spire was suddenly furious. Rolling into Dialanche, he rammed Sylux from behind with the force of a tank. Then he let loose his lava blades, knocking Kanden and Weavel aside. Sylux landed some 200 feet away, slamming with great force into a gravestone. Sylux moaned, but seemed mostly unharmed.

Kanden and Weavel nodded to each other and began firing their weapons. Spire dodged the Battlehammer, and the Volt Driver barely hurt his rock body. Noxus was too weakened to battle. Spire's lava blades lashed out, striking Weavel, who stumbled and fell with a thud. Then Weavel separated his body, and his Halfturret fired at Spire, who strafed to avoid the continuous fire. Kanden charged his Volt Driver and fired at point blank range. Spire bellowed in pain, and Kanden quickly shook off the effects of the close range blast. The halfturret's cannon struck Spire, trapping him under the barrage of the close range fire.

"You're dead Rockhead!" Sylux hissed, returning to the scene and fired the Shock Coil. It was pain like nothing Spire had felt before. The voltage seemed to intensify every second. Spire saw darkness closing in, felt the pain begin to leave, but still exist. Then he knew no more.

"STOP! I'll tell you...just let him go!" Noxus pleaded. Sylux stopped firing, and the 3 hunters stared expectantly at Noxus.

"Beneath the grave...you have to want to get in to open it." Noxus said.

Ignoring this, Kanden fired a missile, shattering a large portion of the stone, which obediantly moved aside. The 3 hunters smirked and left the two weakened hunters lying helplessly. Weavel kicked Noxus as he passed and the stone resealed the entrance. Noxus slowly stood and examined the unmoving Spire. It had been torture to Noxus to see Spire nearly fried for trying to save him. Samus hopefully had enough of a head start to escape the pursuers. Spire didn't react for several minutes, but slowly stirred.

"Spire...Spire..." Noxus whispered, trying to shake Spire. No response. Minutes passed, and Spire regained consciousness. "Huh?" Spire muttered.

"They were going to kill you. I had to tell them where Samus was...it was the least I could do for someone who tried to help me." Noxus explained, pain etched on his face. Spire grunted.

"We don't have a chance of getting the first key. Samus went for it over 20 minutes ago." Noxus whispered. Spire shrugged, finally able to stand.

"Thanks..." Spire grunted and left the graveyard. Noxus stared after him. Spire also seemed like a decent hunter...but that didn't mean they were allies. It really was, in the long run, every hunter for themselves.

Samus cautiously continued down the torchlit path and reached a stone door, which opened at her touch. Inside the second chamber was 3 strange triangle doors. Each was marked with a number. The left had a 1. The middle had a 2. The right had a 3. A tablet read 'The Treasure can be found behind an odd door, but a maze is behind the other. The last one is an exit out, and you cannot return the way you came. Here's a clue to help you: The maze is not door 1. The exit is not door 3. Can you solve the mystery?' Samus hated riddles with a passion. After all, all her missions involved solving puzzles or exploring. This one seemed almost too easy if you had any intellect.

Odd door was a clue refering to numbers like 1,3,5,7,9. OR it meant strange. Most would read and think the latter. So the clue that the maze is behind another odd door, and isn't 1, meant the treasure was behind door 1. The last clue was useless a only 1 door remained that wasn't odd. (door 2). Samus entered door 1 and raced down anoher torchlit hall. At the end was another door marked 'Treasure Chamber'. She opened it, and the door closed behind her, plunging the room into darkness. She fired Power Beam shots to shed some light and saw another door, which she entered. Inside was a pedestal with a green crystal on it. The first Gem Key! She hurried towards it, but immediately a forcefield appeared, sealing the crystal behind it. Samus turned to go back out the door, but it was locked. The forcefield orb surrounded the crystal and the pedestal lowered into the ground, forcefield orb and all. Across the room, a door slid open. Samus had no option but to go through.

The floor dropped slowly and Samus realized it was an elevator. When it stopped she exitted, and saw a strange switch. She scanned it and saw it was a 'Forcefield deactivator- protects the Gem Keys.' She flipped the switch and saw the pedestal rise up through the floor above, which was made of meshed wire. The orb was deactivated. She returned to the elevator and took it upwards, excited. To get one key would supply the clues to the next one! The elevator door opened and she was back in the room with the pedestal.

However...the Gem Key was gone! Samus stared in shock. How could someone have entered the room? She knew the forcefield would go back on if any new person entered the room. It was a superb anti-theft device. Someone had somehow stolen the key right under her nose. The way out of the chamber was unlocked once more, further proof that someone had taken the key. Feeling uneasy, Samus cautiously exitted the chamber and made her way to the entrance.

Weavel, Kanden, and Sylux raced down the hall. Samus had to be close. They reached a chamber with 3 doors. Shrugging, they separated and each went in one. Weavel took door 1, Sylux took door 2, and Kanden took door 3. Kanden found a maze, and was going through it in Stinglarva. Sylux abruptly found himself outside the Crystal Graves all together. and was confused. In annoyance, he signaled the Delano 7 to pick him up. It was Weavel who nearly bumped into Samus.

"Die!" Weavel yelled, firing his Battlehammer enthusiastically. Samus was knocked backwards as each splash of green energy struck anywhere near her in the narrow corridor. Weavel was laughing as each burst made her yell in pain. She fired missiles, but the Battlehammer destroyed them. One option left, she fired the Omega Cannon. The projectile of energy floated towards Weavel, who froze in shock. Samus was sure his face was fearful, and she fired the grapple beam towards the door she had come from. The door closed just in time as the explosion of energy engulfed the hallway.

Cautiously, Samus staggered back to the hallway. Weavel had run from the room, but still got hit by the blast, slightly crippling him. Samus passed him indifferently.

"Just like old times, Cyborg?" she asked. Weavel stared at her with hatred.

"You'll suffer for this!" he said. Samus left him lying there and exitted through door 2. She emerged about 150 feet from the gravestone she had entered. She could see the Delano 7 in the distance, probably returning to the Gem Ruins. Samus was lost on what to do next. She had no clues on how to proceed, and the only option was to find who stole the Gem Key.

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	7. The Second Clue

Spire returned to the tablets he had left behind, and nearly forgot about after the encounter with the cruelty of his rivals. He was staring at the wall with the 7 marks when it happened. One of them abruptly glowed green. Startled, Spire stepped back. The mark faded, but seconds later glowed again. Apparently, locks disengaged when the key was in the vicinity, and not actually placed. He turned, hoping to see Samus walking towards the gate, but he saw no one. He was gripped with a fear he could not explain. He wasn't supposed to fear...he hadn't been afraid last time he was here. Perhaps the effects of the Shock Coil was affecting him still. Having energy drained gave the feeling of weakness, and weakness created fear. He glanced at the glowing lock again, and that's when he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, but a beam of light had already been fired, and it struck him in the chest. Still weak from the relentless Shock Coil attack, he passed out without resistance. He heard laughter, identical to the laugh Noxus had heard.

Sylux landed the Delano 7 at the entrance to the Gem Ruins. He had wasted enough time searching for Samus, rather than wait somewhere she'd have to show up eventually. In order to gain clues to the True Power, she would have to bring the keys to the Gem Shrine Gate. Grinning to himself, he entered the cavern. First thing he noticed as he approached the gate was Spire on the ground, clearly unconscious. The undersized boulder must of bugged another hunter...but wait...all the hunters were somewhere else! Noxus was still at the Crystal Graves. Samus wouldn't have attacked Spire, Weavel and Kanden were still under the grave, so who else was here? That was all 6...oh no. Sylux realized his error. He forgot that 6 corresponded not to total hunters, but rivals. As he realized this, a red beam of light lanced out from near the Shrine gate, striking him in the head. As he fell, all consciousness leaving him, he knew who it was...and realized the mission was harder than he thought. How could he have forgotten...?

Trace snickered to himself as Sylux collapsed without a twitch. Such fools to think they didn't have to worry. That should teach them to be confident. His Imperialist would snipe all adversaries. He returned his gaze to the tablet and flipped it over and inserted the key he had stolen. Earned being the preferred term, for he was there first. He had deactivated the forcefield and been in the elevator when Samus had entered, reactivating the field. He had quickly transformed into Triskelion and darted into the chamber, invisible. When Samus deactivated the field again, it was simple to take it, since no new person entered the room. Tablet #1 glowed yellow, and the ancient text under the first clue became English.

"The keys must unite to open the door to True Power. That's not all that's in the Gem Shrine. Only one may take the Power, and none can proceed until one remains. The Nebula holds the secrets..." Trace read, disappointed. No concrete clue. The key dropped out of the tablet, but the English text remained. Trace tried to put the key into Tablet 2, but it was rejected. Scowling, Trace left the area, careful to step on Sylux's face. He would be back, and the True Power would belong to him, and the Kriken Empire would honor him as the greatest Kriken in the universe!

Samus entered the Gem Ruins, and saw Spire unconscious. What the...? She also saw the glowing key mark, which faded a moment later. Momentarily confused, she saw the tablet and read the new English text.

"Nebula...that's so familiar..." she whispered. She activated a command to her ship to research all files for something called "The Nebula."

"File found. Return to ship!" was the response a minute later. Surprised, she trekked up the mountain to the cave where she had landed her ship.

"The file?" she asked, pressing a few keys. A holograph image appeared.

"The Nebula is a space station orbitting the Gem Ruins. It has been inoperative for over 4000 years, but all systems are operational. It is rumored to hold several treasures, but no one knew of these rumors aside from the Federation." the computer reported.

Samus nodded and set a course for the station. Someone got the first key, but she could get the second one. She landed minutes later on a docking bay and exitted. The station was small, and seemed straight forward, but she wasn't one to let her guard down in hostile territory. She finished stocking missiles and energy and proceeded through the first door. _The Nebula holds the secrets_...

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	8. The Nebula

Samus cautiously raised her arm cannon. Some mutated bug creatures were flying throughout the room. She fired her power beam, with each shot, a bug vaporized. She walked forward and turned a corner and opened a door. The new room was circular, and large enough for 5 of her gunships. The room was deserted, except for a door at the end. As she approached this door, a laser turret dropped from the ceiling and opened fire. Samus rolled into morph ball to dodge the shots, and fired back with a missile. The turret exploded and the door slid open. Samus hurried into the new corridor and saw another forcefield deactivator switch.

Too easy? Samus didn't trust the switch and scanned it carefully. 'Self-destruct mechanism'. Samus gasped. A decoy switch that could kill the intruder, causing the key to be lost forever. A cruel and yet brilliant plan. Nervous now, she proceeded through the next chamber to reach a pedestal with the second key. It didn't have the security the first one did. Clearly, the people who hid the second key had expected...at that moment the pedestal slid down into the floor and a mechanical creature dropped down. Samus scanned it. 'Station Behemoth- a mechanical defense unit that guards the Nebula.'

Samus examined the beast. It was similiar to the Slench B in the Tetra galaxy except the eye wasn't closed and it had two claw arms on its 'head'. Samus dodged the first claw attack and fired her power beam, which bounced uselessly away. The behemoth roared in glee, and lashed out with both claws. Samus fired missiles, which also were useless, aside from the behemoth would be knocked backwards an inch. Samus scowled under the helmet, and fired at the arms, trying to drive them back. It worked, the arms flailed and the behemoth staggered. Samus carefully aimed another missile at the base of the behemoth arm, and when it exploded, the arm shattered. Samus dodged another attack, firing with precision, destroying the second arm.

The behemoth roared in pain, but Samus had no way of damaging it...except for the Omega Cannon. The Ultimate Power...an abomination of the Alimbics. It was perhaps the most powerful and valuable weapon she had. She wondered more then than ever whether it was wise to destroy the Ultimate Power. A weapon of this power must remain for the purposes of destroying all in her path. NO! She had to fight that new instinct. She had used the Omega Cannon too often already. To escape Kanden and Weavel. How insignificant it was to blast them aside for being there. Were those firings justified. Kanden's no, but Weavel's had been a matter of life and death. How would she have reacted if she didn't have the cannon.

The sense of invincibility was overpowering. She struggled to stay focused and aimed her arm cannon at the behemoth and fired the Omega Cannon. At the moment the cannon was fired she felt the familiar thrill of power. Stop it! She commanded herself. The blast easily destroyed the behemoth and the second key appeared again. Samus fell to her knees. The blast had barely harmed her, but the mental struggle had been draining. She vowed from then on that the cannon's power had to be regulated. She couldn't succumb to the urge to fire it indiscriminately. She took the second key and left the room, thinking about how she'd have to go about the mission from then on. Just as she returned to the large circular room, a beam of intense red light struck her shoulder. She yelled in shock and pain. She knew her assailant.

"Trace!" she whispered as the red Kriken appeared.

"Beat me to this one, eh Scam-us?" Trace sneered.

"Is that the best you can do?" Samus retorted.

Trace smirked. "Why, yes. You scammed me out of a key!" Trace held his up and Samus groaned. "It was you!"

"Who else could of possibly get past your vision to seize the key? Fact is...I got there first and disabled the security...you came and reactivated it. In return, I get the key when you deactivate it! So tell you what...we'll duel for the key. The winner escapes alive with 2 keys! The loser will die!"

Trace fired his Imperialist again, and Samus ducked last second. Trace nodded as if approving her dodge. It was just a game to the Kriken. Trace fired again, and Samus morphed into morph ball to dodge, then unrolled and fired 2 missiles. Trace fired again, slicing the missiles and striking Samus in the chest. She gasped and fell back, which saved her, as Trace's next shot would've struck her head. Trace was panting excitedly, ready to kill the hunter who had taken his glory. 'Self-Destruct in 2:00!' a loud automated voice called. Trace jerked his Imperialist in surprise, the beam missing Samus by an inch.

"What the hell? Who activated the self-destruct?" Trace yelled. Samus groaned. She had bumped the switch on her way back from the Key Chamber.

"2 minutes is all I need to end this duel and escape!" Trace hissed, firing his Imperialist, but Samus was ready, she rolled to the left and fired a missile. The red beam struck her arm, and her aim went off course, barely missing Trace. Trace let out a frustrated hiss and fired again. Samus dove forwards, the beam passing overhead, her missile cannon firing. One struck Trace directly, knocking him into the wall, his key tumbling from his grip onto the floor.

"1:00 to self-destruct!" the voice called. Trace hesitated.

"I'll be back Scam-us...it's a draw for now...keep the key for all I care...it won't bring you what you seek. I hope you survive this round...so I can finish the fight the way I intended. I rather both live than neither!" Trace exitted, mock saluting Samus with his Imperialist.

"45 seconds to self-destruct!" the voice called. Samus stood, grabbed Trace's dropped key and hightailed it back to the docking bay. She saw Trace's ship, the _Kriken Sniper_. fly off as she entered her ship and flew back to the Gem Ruins. The Nebula exploded into flames, with her escaping with mere seconds to spare.


	9. Mind Game

Samus landed at the mountain she had landed on during her first visit to the Gem Ruins. However, the cave wasn't empty this time.

"Bravo, Samus!" said a cold voice from the shadows. Startled, Samus fired her arm cannon multiple times, but there seemed to be nothing to hit. Suspicious, she used her heat-visor. Nothing. Puzzled, she inched closer, power beam ready.

"Samus...I'm not there...I'm here!" the voice spoke from behind her. She turned to see only a shadowy figure. The figure was humanoid, but no other features of it could be seen.

"Who are you?" she asked, suspicious. Her heat visor still wasn't picking anything up, despite being aimed at the figure.

"Your visor won't work on me!" the figure said, with a chuckle that sent shivers up her spine. Samus squinted, hoping for at least some form of distinguishable feature of the figure.

"Samus...the #1 bounty hunter in the universe...I've heard so much about you..."

"Join the fan club, but don't pester me!" she said in annoyance.

Ignoring the remark, it continued, "I wonder something none of your fans could ever hope to answer...how do you master your emotions? How could any one human..." Samus blinked.

"...conceal all trace of anger...of fear. No mere creature can do this. You have perhaps one of the greatest wills of all hunters. Still...you wield a weapon so powerful that it could conquer the universe, yet you avoid using it. Any normal person would succumb to the temptation to 'go nuts' and blast everything. Do you ever feel that?" The figure's voice was thoughtful, yet the words pierced Samus like an Imperialist.

"What do you mean?" Samus blurted. The figure chuckled.

"Do you ever wish to prove yourself? To show others that flukes do not exist, that you are the best hunter? Having the Omega Cannon isn't enough? You must still prove you deserve it! You must realize no one takes you seriously until you've used the cannon. Fear is a weapon everyone must use." the figure paused.

Samus froze. It made sense. The other hunters didn't take her seriously unless she had the Omega Cannon. Trace had not even flinched when she fought him, aside from the abrupt self-destruct notice. Trace didn't respect her, and the other hunters didn't either. No one did. To gain the respect she, the accomplished hunter who had defeated Space Pirates and Metroids, deserved, she would have to show them why she was the best. Blast, blast, blast. Wait! To blast people indiscriminately was what she shouldn't do. Only using the cannon for power was why it had to be destroyed.

But that power, the ability to be greater then anyone...she struggled to fight the thoughts, but it was as difficult as walking in water without the Gravity Suit. Using the Omega Cannon to instill fear was a Space Pirate method...but they didn't respect her either, although she defeated their operations. No one feared Samus Aran. She was just 'that hunter' who had done cool stuff. With the cannon, she could threaten mass destruction to all her foes! Yes, then everyone would know 'That's Samus, the strongest hunter. Let's hide.'

All the other hunters were feared. Noxus pursued evildoers relentlessly. Weavel could send Space Pirates on people, and his appearance and skill was frightening. Sylux was a known terroristic hunter, Trace was an accomplished sniper who could get the Kriken Empire to attack planets. She, Samus, was nothing next to them. People knew Sylux's deeds more than Samus. People feared Krikens more than Samus. People dreaded Weavel's race, but the Pirate's only bane was nothing. That could change. The Omega Cannon could make the change.

"That's right Samus...the power of the Omega Cannon is greater than any other. Instill fear and conquer. You could give up the quest for True Power now. No one else can get it, since you have 2 keys. You're already a target...but soon the Universe will run out of people to send after you. Samus, the master of the universe..." the figure watched Samus' reaction. She had loaded the Omega Cannon.

"Now...kill everyone in your way. Let their last thought be 'Damn...I shouldn't have done this' before the Omega radiation blasts their soul to hell!" the figure laughed. Samus gazed at him.

"Feed the anger Samus..." the figure said. Abruptly, the cave seemed to dissolve, and the area around them seemed to be space. All surroundings had vanished and Samus and the figure stood across from each other. Samus glanced in confusion.

"It's nothing serious. To help you see...we must battle our minds! You need to let go of your feelings...to ignore your heart. They misguide you from the truth. Power is the answer, love is the curse!" A black ray of energy flew at Samus, who instinctively focused on repelling it. From her own body fired a ray of blue energy,which collided with the black. The mind battle had begun.

"Don't worry...the black is the love of power...so black must overcome the blue!" the figure's voic echoed.

Samus shook her head. "Remember why I hunted..."

"For revenge against the Pirates. They are detestable!" The black ray pushed the blue back a few inches.

"To avenge my family..." Samus whispered. The blue pushed the black.

"Love is the weakling's path. Hatred is the path towards the strong hunter!" the voice echoed. The black pushed the blue several more inches. Samus was in danger of losing the battle.

"That's the path of criminals...the ones who deserve..." she whispered.

"...death. And your cannon can bring it to them!" the voice echoed. The black was now an inch from Samus. It would be so easy to just let the black win...to agree with the truth...NO! A stronger voice in her head screamed.

"I've never given up, never succumbed! I will do things the way I want. The way they have to be done!" Samus yelled. The figure looked taken aback. Although the black was still extremely close...the mind battle faded. Samus immediately collapsed.

"You're too righteous...you will never be turned from your path, will you Samus?" the figure said half-mockingly. Samus glared back. The figure smiled, the first feature visible. He stepped into the light. He wore black armor, similiar to Sylux's.

"We'll meet again, I'm sure. The True Power will never be yours!" the Dark Hunter laughed and vanished into the shadows. Samus felt drained. Who was he? What did he want? He had wanted her corrupted...but why? Why had she come so close to losing. What did he mean by "You will never be turned from your path, will you?". Did he know how close she had been to surrendering? He had known her other thoughts. Had he simply given up the battle? If so...why? Samus shakily stood. In combo of Trace's battle and the mind game, she wondered whether she'd even survive this mission. After all...all the hunters were hunting her!


	10. The Alliance

As Sylux stirred, he remembered being attacked. Suddenly furious, he got up and aimed his Shock at a rock...then remembered it wouldn't die. Fuming, he signaled the Delano 7. As it approached, Kanden and Weavel appeared.

"Sylux...what happened to you? And him...?" Weavel asked, pointing at Spire who also was waking.

"Trace, that damned Kriken!" Sylux bellowed in rage. It was at that moment the _Kriken Sniper_ flew overhead. Sylux pressed a key and the Delano 7 pursued.

"Aren't you going with your ship?" Kanden asked.

"Not this time...what happened to you fools?" Sylux demanded.

"Wrong door." Kanden muttered.

"Omega Cannon Blast!" Weavel hissed. Both stared at him a moment.

"So...Samus got away?" Sylux breathed.

"Obviously!" Weavel spat. Spire was staring at them, confused. They ignored him.

"Well...then we'll have to team up and kill her!" Kanden said. The other two nodded.

Samus reached the Gem Shrine and saw Sylux, Weavel, Spire, and Kanden standing there. In her weakened state, she couldn't fight them. Fortunately, 3 of the hunters left, leaving Spire standing there. Samus hurried to the tablets and placed the second key in the 2nd tablet. The tablet was translated.

"A desert wind blows, and the shrine is concealed by the stone." Samus grunted in annoyance, and Spire smiled, hurrying off. Before exploring the Gem Ruins, he had been in a desert area. Perhaps that was where the key was hidden. As he reached the desert zone, he yelled in shock as Kanden dropped down upon him, a flash of yellow, and his vision blurred. Kanden grinned and slithered away. He was alone, having separated from his alliance to divide their search. He would summon them here later. The desert was somewhat painful on his Stinglarva, but in moments he had reached a small oasis where a large boulder was placed by a wall. How easily overlooked it was...grinning, Kanden pressed a button to alert his teammates.

He proceeded to fire missiles at the boulder. After about 10 missiles, the rock cracked. Kanden had just enough room for his Stinglarva to slither inside and lay Stingbombs to shatter the rest of it. This revealed a small cave. Grinning sinisterly, Kanden entered the cave. He would claim the third key and then kill Samus, seizing the Omega Cannon and her key. That would prove his superiority as the #1 hunter in the universe. Inside the new cave was a massive circular room almost completely filled with lava. There was a small bridge crossing the pit. The heat was unbearable, and Kanden hurried to get across. In the next passage was what appeared to be a large circular room with a pillar in each corner of a square in the center.

Curious, Kanden examined each pillar. "Excellent!" he said. A forcefield deactivator switch was hidden at the base of one. After flipping it, he heard a grinding noise. A pedestal rose in the center of the room, but it didn't have a Gem Key.

Instead of a key, here was another switch. Kanden flipped it without much thought, and a secret door opened. Curious, Kanden entered. The new chamber held nothing of interest at first, but a few turns later, Kanden reached the Treasure Chamber. Smiling, he opened the door and found the 3rd Gem Key. Undefended. He seized it greedily.

"Why thank you Sluggy...now give it to me!" Kanden whirled around and saw Spire.

"Boulder! How nice to see you!" Kanden said icily.

"You'd rather fight the greatest hunter ever than save your life? No Iceface to save your life this time!" Kanden sneered, firing his Volt Driver. Spire stumbled and Kanden lunged forward, firing a charged blast. Spire's vision distorted, Kanden ran through the door with a laugh. Spire turned in that direction and barreled blindly after him.

Back in the pillar room, Kanded bumped into Samus, who stared at him in shock and revulsion. It was this moment that Weavel and Sylux entered the room.

"Well...looks like the Alliance is all here!" Sylux sneered. Samus flinched.

"Time to die Samus. It's 3 against 1...no one can save you now." Weavel hissed. As this was said, the 3 hunters raised their weapons. Samus aimed her arm cannon at Kanden. The odds were against her...and they were on the same team. There might not be an escape this time...

Samus fired a missile, then jerked her arm cannon and fired one at the ground between Sylux and Weavel. Kanden ducked and the other two leapt apart from each other.

"So predictable!" Weavel mocked, firing 3 Battlehammer shots. Samus let out a cry of pain as the third shot hit her directly, knocking her to the ground. Her two Gem Keys slid from her suit to the ground. Kanden distracted her by throwing his key past her face, and Weavel caught it. Sylux fired the Shock Coil and Samus yelled in agony. Kanden snatched up the two fallen keys and threw one to Sylux. Surprised, Sylux's Coil broke the connection as he caught the key. Samus fired a missile at point blank range. Sylux roared in pain, and staggered backwards. Despite this Samus knew she had no hope.

Sylux fired the Shock Coil again, and darkness slowly spread through her vision. It was agony, but also a sense of bliss seemed to appear. The surroundings became stars again and she could hear a voice.

"Use the Cannon Samus...prove you're better..." Samus struggled to shake the voice, but it hissed more insistently.

"If you don't you're dead. Use it! Unleash your anger...the anger stored from years of pain...of hatred. These hunters will happily kill you. The Cannon...use the Ultimate Power! Do it or die! You're alone...friendless! You have nothing left to lose. Do it...do it NOW!" the voice shrieked and Samus felt herself hurtling through space and slamming into consciousness. The Shock Coil had stopped firing. Sylux was torturing her to death. It would be his last error. Samus raised her arm cannon, and prepared to fire the Omega Cannon. NO! She swore she'd regulate it! What choice remained? She stood, her anger fueling her strength.

Sylux looked stunned, but fired the Shock Coil. Ignoring the pain, Samus stepped forward. Sylux and Weavel exchanged terrified looks. Samus pressed her arm cannon against Sylux's chest.

"Like the fear?!" Samus sneered. Kanden fired his Volt Driver, and Samus's cannon jerked in reflex, causing her Omega Cannon shot to go astray. Sylux lashed out his foot and knocked her down, firing the Shock Coil. Samus struggled to resist, but her anger wasn't enough to her battered body a second time. It was over...all was going dark. She had failed...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Hope you enjoyed this story so far. This is the first of several two+ part chapter sections.


	11. Rescue and Retrieval

Weavel watched with elation as Samus' twitching began to subside. Pity Syux insisted on doing the final blow. Watching Samus die was incredibly satisfying. _Something's wrong!_ Weavel thought, surprised at the urgency of this thought.

"Uh-oh!" he whispered. A flash of light, a wave of heat and energy. A forced emanated from the blast, the shockwave knocking Sylux, Weavel and Kanden across the room. Kanden was furthest from the Omega Blast Samus had tried to kill Sylux with. They had forgotten it until it went off. Weavel was closest and was unconscious for several moments. Sylux waited a moment for Weavel to revive and returned to finish Samus off. He fired the Shock Coil. In the brief time the firing had ceased, she had recovered a small amount of energy, which he drained from her. Her twitching resumed, but ceased seconds later. Sylux was filled with glee. Samus was going to die.

Suddenly, a cold like no other spread through his body. The sheer abruptness of his body temperature horrified him, and he was immobile. It took a few seconds until he could move, and when he could move, Samus' body was gone. Sylux looked around the room in absolute confusion. Noxus stood at the doorway, holding the weak Samus.

"Iceface!" Weavel said angrily. Apparently all 3 had been frozen. Kanden raised his Volt Driver, but a burst of fire from behind him knocked his aim off. Weavel spun around to fire his Battlehammer at Spire, but was hit with a charged Magmaul burst, setting him on fire. Yelling in panic, Weavel ran around the room, trying to stop the flames.

"Noxus...is it wise to interfere? Remember Spire? Or yourself?" Sylux whispered, firing a missile at Noxus, who dodged, charging his Judicator.

"Justice is now...I'll stop you from killing righteous people!" Noxus retorted.

"You're doing a wonderful job. I won't kill Spire. Now step aside!" Sylux growled, firing his Shock Coil, which homed in on Noxus, but Noxus rolled into Vhoscythe and spun towards Sylux, the scythe swinging. Sylux flipped into Lockjaw and they charged each other. Spire's Magmaul shots bounced as he fought Weavel and Kanden.

Sylux set 1 bomb, then jerked to the left and set another, forming the trip wire. He swung around behind Noxus to set the third, but a beam of red light struck his Lockjaw, and he set the third bomb out of sync with the rest of the triangle, where they exploded harmlessly. Sylux returned to biped, searching for the source of the beam. Trace stood in the doorway.

"Your key Sylux..." Trace hissed.

"Die Kriken filth!" Sylux sneered, firing the Shock Coil, but Trace morphed into Triskelion and lunged, striking Sylux who hit one of the 4 pillars. Trace advanced, Imperialist ready to finish the fight. Sylux fired his Coil again, but Trace ignored it. Sylux felt energy returning, but Trace's Imperialist struck him in the head, immediately causing him to black out. Trace laughed as darkness consumed his vision...

Samus stirred. She was alive...but how? She opened her eyes. Spire was fighting both Kanden and Weavel, and nearly winning. Noxus and Trace were eyeing each other, unsure of the other's allegiances. Trace fired his Imperialist and Noxus flinched. But the Imperialist was pointed at a different target, striking Weavel in the head, causing him to collapse without resistance. Kanden was distracted by this, being unaware of Trace's arrival. Spire rolled into Dialanche and rammed Kanden, who slammed into the same pillar as Sylux had, but on the other side of it. On cue, every hunter ran to the 3 unconscious. Trace seized 1 of the keys and Noxus another. Spire was too slow and Noxus grabbed the third.

"The keys Noxus!" Trace said in a deadly whisper. Samus was slowly recovering, and was worried. What if Trace wanted a rematch in her current state. She had almost lost at full power. Noxus fired his Judicator at Trace, who fumbled his key while dodging. The Judicator shot bounced off the wall and hit a pillar, rebounding to hit Trace's key, which flew into the air and Noxus caught it.

"Give it back!" Trace demanded, firing the Imperialist, which Noxus ducked.

"Never!" Noxus yelled and ran for the door. Startled, Samus lunged forward to intercept him, but a red beam hit the spot directly in front of her and she had to stop. The second was enough and Noxus exitted. Spire rolled into Dialanche and followed. Trace watched Samus carefully.

"I can't fight, Trace..." Samus said wearily. Trace chuckled.

"Yet you attempt to stop a full powered hunter from escaping? We won't have our rematch yet...but I assure you, when we do, I will win!" Trace chuckled, mock saluting Samus as he departed.

Noxus ran into the lava chamber and threw two of the Gem Keys (careful to select the 3rd key as the one to keep) into the pit. He then exitted the secret chamber of the desert. What he didn't realize was that Spire had followed. He also forgot Spire was immune to heat. Noxus had planned to stop anyone from getting the power. It was too great a threat to the peaceful world. He had sensed an aura change in Samus when he had rescued her. A type of fury that he had never seen in a righteous power. Only one person, if any, should get the Power, and that was him. The only righteous hunter left.

Meanwhile, Spire stepped into the lava pit and walked to the spot where Noxus had thrown the keys. He grabbed them and at that moment Trace entered the room.

"To me...give me the keys!" Trace threatened, wielding his Imperialist. Without any fear Spire shook his head.

"So...you rather the Diamonts went extinct? I have no problems doing that! After all...it's rumored Krikens eliminated all the others! How fitting I, a Kriken, will exterminate the last!" Trace sneered. Spire's face suddenly filled with rage.

"Kill me then...if all Diamonts are extinct, the keys will be lost in lava forever!" Spire fired his Magmaul at Trace, who looked extremely surprised. Trace ducked, but the Magmaul shot bounced off the wall and hit Trace.

"Arrgghhh! Die Diamont heir!" An Imperialist shot, carefully aimed, hit the Magmaul, disabling it.

"No weapons...you can't hide in lava forever!"

"Is that the best insult you could do? Diamont Heir?" Spire snorted.

Trace smiled. "You sound like Scam-us! No, it wasn't an insult, but a description!" Trace snickered. Spire scowled, defenseless. Trace waited. Spire would next go into Dialanche to escape...As he predicted this, Spire rolled into Dialanche and rolled for the exit. Trace fired a custom missile. The missile hit Spire, having no effect. Trace calmly walked to the exit. Spire rolled another 150 feet before suddenly his Dialanche unrolled, forcing him back to biped. Trace must have a missile that disables alternate forms...which would aid in...oh no. A beam of red light fired from the entrance to the tunnel. Spire ducked, and tried to run.

Without weapons or Dialanche, Trace had the advantage of distance attacks. Another Imperialist shot missed by inches. The third caught Spire in the back, and he collapsed, mobility temporarily paralyzed. A Triskelion approached and reverted to Trace. Trace smiled mockingly and grabbed the 2 keys.

"Nice try Heir...I'll eliminate you later! I'll be Kriken #500 who put a species on the extinction list at the Empire soon enough. If I were you...I'd drop out of the quest now. Better save your species while you can...not like it matters. In a few decades Diamonts will be extinct either way!" Trace snickered while Spire glared at him. Trace signaled his Kriken Sniper and flew off in pursuit of Noxus, leaving a slowly recovering Spire struggling to move.


	12. The Fourth Gem Key

Samus slowly exitted the secret cave and staggered over to the oasis. She didn't want to be nearby the 3 hunters when they revived. She typed a distress signal and minutes later, her ship arrived. She entered and went straight to the healing station. Although it wouldn't heal her physical energy, she would get her suit and weapons repowered. She had never had a harder mission. Every hunter was hunting her except Noxus and maybe Spire. And what was with her recent temper? She set her course for the Gem Ruins again. Everything in this mission revolved around the ruins. She needed rest...so she wondered whether she should this hunt out. Risky as it was, she'd lose more fights and keys if she didn't take a break to recover.

Kanden awoke and stood. That stupid Diamont had knocked him out. Weavel was also waking up.

"What happened?!" Weavel raged.

"Trace sniped you. I got hit by Spire. Sylux..." Kanden explained. Sylux got up.

"Stupid Kriken..." he muttered.

"Again?" Kanden asked, before he could stop himself. Bad move.

Sylux glared at him. "Shut up you mutant! Samus got away! If you fools had been guarding the doors, that Vhozon would never have stopped us. Now, this alliance is over! I'll do things my way now. Get in my way, and you'll fry like Samus!" Sylux stormed out of the room. Weavel and Kanden glanced at each other.

"I think we should work separately for now." Weavel suggested. Kanden nodded. They left. and then separated, although their destination was the same: The Gem Ruins. Weavel reached the ruins and saw that the 3rd tablet had been translated. Noxus was nowhere nearby. Weavel studied the tablet and saw that (finally) the tablets weren't riddled anymore.

'In the Battle Shrine lies a path to the 4th key.' Weavel smiled. He had visited the Battle Shrine earlier. He smiled again and went to the south of the ruins. There was a small building that Weavel had explored a long time ago. Inside was a dedication of the 'Battle Shrine'. As expected, Weavel easily found a hidden door in the floor. The hidden staircase led into a tunnel that seemed to go straight for miles. Weavel decided to just hurry and get the key so he could continue onwards. He hated the Gem Ruins at this point. Only 3 keys had been found and there were 7!

Weavel ventured through the long passageway. At the end of the hall were two doors. Weavel opened the second door and found a gigantic maze. The door locked behind him. Figures. Weavel ran into the maze and turned left, then left, then right, then left. Dead End. Weavel shrugged and went right instead. Dead End. He backtracked and turned left instead. After a long passage, he emerged from the maze in a torchlit room. Rocks cluttered the room, and Weavel searched for clues as to his objective.

After several uneventful minutes, he found a button. When pressed, a wall slid open and the 4th key was lying on a pedestal in the center of another room. However...before he could grab it, a strange creature appeared, blocking his path. (unknown to Weavel, it was a Station Behemoth) Weavel stared at this odd monster and then opened fire. His Battlehammer did no noticable damage to the monster, and Weavel struggled to dodge the mechanical arms of the beast. Firing with impeccable accuracy, Weavel managed to destroy one of the arms. He repeated this with the second arm and then aimed at the beast again.

However, the monster fired an energy beam from a core that was revealed. Weavel went into Halfturret and moved around the monster as it tried to follow him. When the monster prepared to fire, the halfturret launched projectiles, striking the core. Weavel continued to bait the monster's fire and before long destroyed it. Pleased, Weavel snatched up the Gem Key and went through a new door that unlocked. At this point, Weavel's jaw dropped. The new door led to the entrance hall. Just his luck...he had to choose door 2 and take the long route!

Weavel exitted the Battle Shrine and Kanden approached him.

"Nice work Weavel!" Kanden said, smiling. Startled, Weavel followed Kanden to the Gem Shrine Gate and decoded the 4th tablet.

"The 5th is prized at the Duel Stadium..." Kanden read, looking thoughtful. Weavel shrugged. Just then, all sunlight seemed to fade. Startled, Kanden and Weavel looked up as a black battlecruiser flew overhead.

"North?" Weavel whispered. Kanden shrugged and they followed the cruiser's path to reach a cliff overlooking the Gem Shrine. A stadium stood, half-concealed by ivy. It was the only building not affected by time. Curious, the 2 hunters entered the stadium. Inside the large stadium was a battlefield, and some raised seats around the stadium for spectators.

"So...you've arrived first. The mutant and the cyborg! Not to worry. This spectacle will be one you'd never want to miss!" sneered a voice. Both hunters stared for the source.

"Don't worry. It'll be only a few hours. Rest guests...the others will arrive in time." A shadowy figure appeared in the doorway on the opposite end of the stadium.

"Who are you?" Weavel demanded. The figure cocked his head curiously.

"Do you want the 5th key? I know how to get it, but there's a catch...the greatest enemies must duel! You'll see one of the competitors before the other competitor. You'll see more than you ever expected! Relax...You won't want to miss the greatest duel ever!" The figure laughed coldly.

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That's the end of Chapter 12! The next chapters are going to be very good.


	13. The Dark Hunter part 1

Sylux studied the strange message he picked up on his ship's computer.

"The 5th key is at the Stadium to the North..." This was ridiculous. Who would've sent him this message? None of the hunters were allies wth him, and the 4th key hadn't been found yet...had it? What did he have to lose? The Delano 7 landed at the Stadium and Sylux exitted, filled with anticipation. He entered the Stadium and heard Kanden and Weavel talking to each other.

"Sluggy, Weavel...what are you doing here?" Sylux asked, suspicious.

"I found the 4th key and the clue said come here..." Weavel started.

"Then where is it?" Sylux asked, annoyed.

"Does it matter, Sylux?" A voice sneered from the shadows. Sylux flinched and aimed his Shock Coil at the figure.

"Sylux...the rival of Samus Aran and the Galactic Federation, am I correct? Of course I am...your mind holds no secrets Sylux..."

"Who are you?" Sylux demanded. The figure stepped from the shadows and Sylux recoiled involuntarily. The figure was humanoid and wore black armor resembling Sylux's. However, all features seemed blurred and waxy. There were no distinguishing marks upon the helmet. It was as though a wax sculpture of a human was painted black and all the features were melted and rehardened. The truly frightening thing about the figure was his weapon. Sleek and shiny, it an evil aura seemed to radiate from it. It was like a hand-held rifle, and not something Sylux would want to be the target of.

"I have many names, but I am frequently referred to as the Dark Hunter...for obvious and subtle reasons..." the figure whispered.

"So what are you doing here?" Sylux challenged.

"Hiding fear behind aggression..your tactics amuse me. There's nothing that you can hide from me Sylux...I do not seek the True Power...I seek to make all hunters with potential stronger than ever before. You first, Sylux. You see...to claim the 5th Gem Key, the stadium must have 5 or more spectators and a duel between 2 great rivals." the Dark Hunter paused. Sylux nodded. He saw where this was going.

"So you're going to bring the other hunters here and have them watch me duel with Samus?" Sylux wondered. The Dark Hunter smiled.

"Yes...but I need you to win! I created a group of elites called the Dark League. Unfortunately...they've all been killed." there was no trace of concern in the hunter's voice. Sylux looked at the hunter, confused.

"They, one by one, died at the hands of Samus Aran! Her mission was to infiltrate a base, where we met. She destroyed the base, and all members died. I'm not out for revenge. She did her job, we did ours. She was better." The Dark Hunter smiled. Sylux nodded, despite not understanding. "To test you...we must duel!" the hunter said quietly. Sylux flinched again and the Dark Hunter laughed.

"Sylux...your skills rival Samus. If you fight me you will become stronger...win or lose. I guarantee it. I can't guarantee victory, but I can guarantee an increase of power! Begin!" Sylux reacted instinctively, raising the Shock Coil and firing, the beam of neutrinos striking the Dark Hunter, who ignored the energy and raised his own weapon, firing. A beam of black goo, the best description for the projectile, launched forward with startling speed. Sylux ducked, and saw the goo vanish upon contact with the ground. The Dark Hunter nodded approvingly, similiar to Trace during his duel with Samus. Sylux continued to fire his Shock Coil at the hunter, who ignored the attack all together.

"You can't harm me Sylux...I'm too powerful!" With a gesture, a force radiated from his hands, pushing Sylux roughly to the ground.

"Anger will always make you stronger...fight with your fury and thirst for vengeance. Fight as if your existence hangs in the balance. MOTIVATION! The key to victory. Had badly do you want to kill Samus?"

"With all my soul!" Sylux responded.

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" the Dark Hunter yelled. Sylux stared increduloously. "You have so much to learn Sylux...and there's 2 spectators to watch your training...or see you die! Would you like them to tell everyone that you're weak?" The Dark Hunter laughed again.

Sylux felt his rage boil over, and he lunged forward, firing his Shock Coil, circling around the Dark Hunter, the intensity of the Coil increasing every second, but the Dark Hunter smiled.

"You're weak Sylux!" The features of the Dark Hunter began to bubble, and Sylux thought his Coil was the cause, but the Hunter seemed to shapeshift, transforming into the image of Kanden.

"Hey, everyone who thinks Sylux is so scary...he's just a big weakling. He doesn't have the strength to fight Samus or anyone that isn't defenseless!" the Kanden clone said in perfect imitation of Kanden. Weavel glanced between the two Kandens in alarm. Sylux was staring in shock, and a mixture of horror and fear. The Kanden changed again to form Weavel.

"Hey, Space Pirates...let's go make fun of Sylux. What's he gonna do? Sucker punch us?" Weavel stared at the clone in shock. That would be his exact wording if anyone was deemed 'weak' by Weavel. The Weavel clone reformed into Samus.

"Hey that idiot Sylux took one look at a spider and ran like a coward! Let's laugh at him!" Sylux looked at the Samus with a mixture of horror and rage. The Samus reformed into the Dark Hunter.

"Now Sylux...you can do better, can't you?" Sylux felt a surge of power and lunged forward without a trace of fear. The Dark Hunter laughed. Sylux had taken hs first step...but would play right into his hands. This was one duel Sylux could not win!

TO BE CONTINUED...


	14. The Dark Hunter part 2

The duel with Sylux and the Dark Hunter continued. Both circled, Sylux hoping to find some weak point. So the Dark Hunter was invincible. Perhaps what the hunter was saying was true...anger was the secret to power. That was easy enough...but rage only increased aggression which helped Sylux do reckless things, not increase potential.

"Sylux...don't question the truth. I guarantee after this duel, Samus will be easier for you. Tap into the anger. Let it fuel your speed, your power. You have been reckless but now you can be efficient as well. Samus is the bane of your existence. A fire that burns away at your soul until you are nothing but a weakling that is out of motivation. Samus must pay for helping the Federation...you must bring her death! Do it! Focus on the pain inflicted upon you! You can't harm me...but perhaps Samus isn't as powerful. Do you fear Samus?"

"Never!" Sylux protested. The Dark Hunter smiled and shapeshifted into Samus.

"Prove it!" the Samus sneered, firing missiles. Sylux rolled away with perfect speed and enough momentum to target Samus with his Shock Coil. The Samus groaned, and Sylux went into lockjaw, placing a trip wire in front of Samus, then swinging behind the Samus and laying the triangle bomb, which exploded, draining Samus. Laughing manically, Sylux pulled the Shock Coil out and dodged the foolish attempts to harm him. Samus was nothing to him .The power flowed through him, enhancing his thoughts and reflexes. But the duel wasn't over.

"Now prove your power on those who doubted you!" the Dark Hunter sneered, morphing into two shapes...a Kanden and Weavel clone. Weavel and Kanden in the audience gasped. 2 on 1?

"Prove you can take down 2 rivals at once! Samus has done it, and so can you!" Weavel and Kanden clones sneered. Weavel-clone went into Halfturret and Kanden-clone fired Volt Driver bolts. Sylux focused on dodging the feeble attacks, while concentrating on the halfturret, draining its energy and making him even stronger. Weavel-clone returned to biped, and fired the Battlehammer with incredible accuracy, better then even the real Weavel could, but Sylux easily leapt out of range, his Shock Coil securely draining the Weavel-clone. Charged Volt Driver bolts were too slow to catch the Lockjaw, and Sylux trapped both foes with a Triangle bomb, which caused the clones to shriek in anguish. Sylux seemed unstoppable. The Dark Hunter split further more, becoming a Kriken, a Vhozon, and a Diamont.

"3 on once? Including the two hunters Samus beat at once! Beat them to prove that you truly are the stronger!" the Dark Hunter mocked. The hunters split up out of range of the Triangle Bomb and couldn't be easily targeted by the Shock Coil. Magmaul and Judicator bolts bounced off walls and floors, creating an unstable fighting area. Sylux noticed the threat last second and rolled forward to dodge the Imperialist shot. The biggest threat first, Sylux thought, firing the Shock Coil at the Kriken, whose aim was thrown off. Sylux kept moving, preventing a lucky last shot or a sure shot with the Magmaul or Judicator. Several seconds later, the smell of burnt flesh lingered in the air. The Kriken clone was dead, and the Vhozon was next. Sylux felt invincible, but was not so easily deluded.

He fired the Shock Coil as the Vhozon struggled for a Judicator charge. Moments before the Judicator shot was fired, Sylux leapt backwards, and the small ice freeze was ineffective. Sylux laughed as the Vhozon crumpled to the ground, twitching and finally, the twitching stopped. Still dodging Magmaul shots, Sylux waited another 10 seconds of Shock Coiling power until the Vhozon was smoking. The Diamont was all that remained...

Weavel and Kanden exchanged half-panicked looks. Sylux was stronger than any hunter they'd ever seen. Gorea itself probably wasn't as strong. Sylux's new power probably guaranteed the True Power to him. Sylux closed in on the Diamont, who became a Dialanche and rolled at him. Sylux easily dodged, firing a missile, creating a small crater, making the trapped Dialanche an easy target. The Shock Coil lashed out, striking the struggling, now biped Diamont. Before long, the Diamont collapsed, twitching. This time, Sylux had no difficulty completing the task, with no other hunter attacking him. The now black Diamont melted into a pool, which reformed with the Kriken and Vhozon to reform the Dark Hunter.

"You're almost there Sylux...no one can match you now. Let's see how it's done shall we?" the Dark Hunter fired his Goo Gun, and Sylux countered with the Shock Coil. The weapon beams connected, and the projectiles fought each other.

"My Goo Gun mimics the power of any weapon it touches! You'll never overcome it!" the Dark Hunter jeered. Sylux could feel the power from his Shock Coil intensify every second, but the goo was equal at all times.

It was a stalemate. As he thought this, the goo inched forward, enveloping the neutrinos. "It mimics the abilities, and your ability to increase the intensity of the energy is mine too! The difference is my power source can utilize far more energy than yours! I'll triumph!" The Dark Hunter cackled as the goo enveloped the rest of the neutrinos.

"NO!" Sylux bellowed, focusing on creating stronger neutrinos than ever existed. He felt a force radiate from his soul and his neutrinos doubled in intensity, shattering the goo enveloping them. The Dark Hunter was still looking triumphant, and that ridiculous look infuriated Sylux. No one was stronger than him! The Shock Coil pushed the goo back, and the startled look on the Dark Hunter's face gave Sylux savage pleasure. _Kill the master...the final step of the apprentice. Only then can you be the master._ Sylux felt the power from his Coil reach a previously unattainable level. His gun was heating up, as hot as a Magmaul projectile. He didn't stop squeezing the trigger. The Dark Hunter seemed to focus and Sylux saw him gesture at the Shock Coil beam. The beam was stronger than Sylux had ever hoped, with the voltage to instantly fry a creature.

"The duel ends here!" Sylux yelled. The Dark Hunter nodded, and the Shock Coil short circuited. The black goo struck Sylux, enveloping his suit, changing the blue to a sinister black. The Shock Coil also got a black makeover.

"Welcome Sylux, to the Dark League! The black shows your allegiance to the darkness, and serves as a reminder of how you are reborn as something stronger. You couldn't beat me...but you came close, Sylux. You earn the title of 'Dark'. Rise Dark Sylux!" Dark Sylux examined his new Power Suit and smiled chillingly.

"Your craft is unworthy for a Dark League member. Introducing the Dark Delano 8!" the Dark Hunter said, and the Delano 7 was encased in black as well, reappearing with a sinister black armor. "The weapon flaw has been corrected." the Dark Hunter said dismissively. Sylux knelt at the Dark Hunter's feet.

"Get up!" the Dark Hunter said angrily. "No one is your master. No one commands you. Your transformation was your choice...and you made a wise one! Samus and the other hunters will be here in 20 minutes, so prepare yourself!" Dark Sylux nodded and stood. It was time to duel Samus and conquer the Federation!


	15. Corruption Duel part 1

Samus awoke from her recovery rest and realized her energy had returned. Hopefully she didn't fall too far behind. She accessed a data file and groaned. "How long has a message been there?" she asked.

"Only 5 minutes." the computer responded. She read it. "Samus Aran: If you've recovered by now, it will interest you to know that the 5th Gem Key is at the Northern Duel Stadium." Samus pondered the message a moment. "Damn...it's a trap." she said quietly.

"What choice do you have? The key is required to stop the True Power from falling into enemy hands." the computer responded. Samus sighed and set a course for the Stadium. She was being baited, and she had no choice.

Trace studied the odd message. "Fifth key? Who grabbed the 4th?" he muttered, flying towards the Stadium. Whatever the purpose of the message, Trace was going to find out! The Kriken Sniper dropped the hunter at the entrance and he snuck into the stadium. Nothing could have prepared him for the revelations to come, or the duel that would take place.

Spire and Noxus also received messages and had arrived before Trace, both alarmed at the other hunters' presence.

"What's going on?" they asked Kanden.

"You'll see. We'll see the greatest duel ever fought. Don't worry...this will be something we don't want to miss." Weavel said, cutting off Kanden's explanation. Still confused, especially at their rival's honest and fascinated response, they shrugged and chose seats farther away, giving them a superb view of the stadium.

"Who's the competitors?" Spire muttered.

"I have no clue! Maybe that's one of them...Trace?" Noxus whispered, pointing at the entrance. Trace entered, looking suspicious.

"What's going on?" Trace hissed loudly.

Weavel responded, "You'll see, but I think it'll be AWESOME!" Trace looked skeptical, but chose a seat by the door. It was only a minute later than a black armored figure stepped from a shadowy corner.

"Welcome hunters...I am the Dark Hunter, founder of the Dark League!"

Noxus interrupted, "The criminal hunter gang?!" he yelled indignantly. The Dark Hunter studied Noxus for several seconds.

"Yes, Noxus...the criminal hunter gang. Of course...you are jealous of the League...considering you begged to join about 5 years ago. That's why you hate crime. Because you weren't good enough for us."

"I did not!" Noxus shouted furiously.

"True...you didn't beg. But you sure wanted to join. Anyway...we will see a duel between 2 of the greatest hunters in the universe. One is Samus Aran, when she arrives. The other is our newest member of the Dark League. I predict one more minute until Samus arrives!" the Dark Hunter seemed to fade into the shadows again. Exactly 60 seconds later, Samus entered the stadium.

"Alright...what the hell's going on?" Samus yelled.

"Samus...you're here!" the Dark Hunter rematerialized.

"You?" Samus whispered. Spire and Noxus shared startled glances with Weavel and Kanden across the stadium.

"Yes...and since you are so confident, why don't you face the latest addition to the Dark League!" Samus flinched. "Recognize the name, Aran? I'm not vengeful. It was your job to destroy the base. The members weren't strong enough! Now let the duel begin!"

"What duel?" Samus yelled. A black silhouette appeared in the sky. It was a black version of the Delano 7...oh no. A black figure dropped from the ship and landed gracefully.

"Sylux!" Samus, Noxus and Spire whispered.

"No...not anymore!" came the cruel voice that was Sylux. "I'm Dark Sylux...and this duel will be the last!" Dark Sylux nodded and the entrance sealed itself. "First, a test. Dark Delano 8, attack Samus Aran!" The black ship fired rapid fire, and Samus fired a missile while rolling sideways. The Delano 8 rocked, but the firing rate didn't cease or slow.

"Upgrade, Samus! The Delano 8 is flawless. Dark Delano 8, ceasefire! Retreat!" The ship reacted to the voice command and flew away.

"What do you want Sylux?" Samus asked.

"Revenge. with my enhanced power, I can finally kill you!"

"Now begin! The winner gets the fifth Gem Key!" the Dark Hunter called, vanishing from view. Sylux waited, an aura of confidence about him. Samus fired missiles, but Sylux countered each one with his Shock Coil. Startled, Samus prepared for a defensive maneuver. Sylux surprised her by firing a missile. She ducked and fired back. Sylux leapt over the missile with ease. True to Sylux's word, he did have enhanced powers and Samus frowned.

The fight had barely begun, and everyone was watching with fascination. Samus fired her missiles again and again, but Sylux countered each one with his Shock Coil. Sylux was slightly insane. Samus had sensed a great aura about Sylux and was worried. He seemed incredibly powerful and more dangerous than anyone Samus had ever seen. The change was no doubt due to the Dark Hunter's mind games.

Unfortunately, she was too distracted and felt the agony of the Shock Coilas it found its mark. She struggled to remain standing, firing another missile. It struck Sylux, who staggered, losing his lock on her for a split second, then the neutrino hit her again. The pain...it took most of her effort to fight the pain as darkness closed in. _No one respects you. No one fears you. The Cannon can change that..._a voice in her head said. _Kill him, Samus...it's do or die..._she struggled against the voice in her head, but knew it was a losing battle. _Energy better spent killing Sylux._ _The Cannon will help...having it isn't enough._ Samus felt her rage boil over. She raisd her arm cannon, focused on Sylux's face and fired.

The huge blast flew at Sylux who looked dumbfounded for a moment. He fired his Shock Coil at the Omega Cannon blast, and the projectiles connected. The gathered hunters gasped. The Shock Coil was countering the Ultimate Power, although losing. Samus smirked.

"Like the fear?" she mocked. Sylux looked briefly terrified as he struggled to stop the blast. Samus walked forward, so she was to the left of Sylux and fired another Omega Cannon Blast. It was that moment, at the firing of the second blast that Samus let go of her restraint. No longer would she cower, no longer hide from confrontation. The Cannon had it all. The ability to destroy her enemies. Sylux stared blankly ahead as the second blast struck him and two enormous flashes lit the stadium. Noxus looked mortified at Samus' conversion and ruthlessness. Weavel and Kanden laughed. Samus, deep down, was a heartless jerk. The smoke cleared and Sylux knelt, panting. Samus stepped back in surprise.

"Not dead yet...?" she sneered.

"Not yet..." Dark Sylux whispered.

"Do it Samus..." the Dark Hunter whispered. "He deserves it. A common criminal, consumed by revenge. Justice for the good of the universe. Do it!"

Samus didn't hesitate. She aimed her arm cannon at Sylux, who didn't react. A weary grin flashed across his face, and another bright flash. Sylux was blasted into the wall, where he lay, unmoving.

"The path is complete, Samus. The Gem Key is yours...and the same fate awaits everyone who battles you! Look around Samus!" Samus took the key and looked at the spectators with no interest. Weavel and Kanden, who previously had been pleased, looked horrified at her brutality. Noxus was nearly sobbing, the wimp. Spire was staring in surprise. It was Trace's reaction that made her happiest. He wore a look of pure terror. The Kriken was afraid...so much had changed.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	16. Corruption Duel part 2

The sheer brutality of Samus' fight with Sylux had horrified Noxus. Only one thing left to do really. Even Kanden and Weavel were looking absolutely mortified.

"Well done, Samus...looks like I was right...you never will stray from your path...you didn't. Your path is, and always has been, to conquer your foes." the Dark Hunter sneered. Something snapped in Noxus. Without thought, he leapt from the stands into the arena itself.

"Enough! You manipulate people's minds! Leave her alone!" Judging from the sudden hush over the stadium, Noxus realized he had gone too far. However, the Dark Hunter stared at the Vhozon without emotion.

"Tell me, Noxus...what interest is it to you?"

"Shut up!" Noxus bellowed. Everyone stared at Noxus with a mixture of fear and admiration. The Dark Hunter smiled.

"So you, a weakling, challenges the greatest hunter in existence?"

"You're not the greatest. You're a coward who manipulates people greater than you." Noxus hissed. Spire, behind Noxus, looked taken aback at Noxus' boldness. The Dark Hunter looked amused.

"I never said I was the greatest. Always taking things out of context..."

"I was challenging you, so your response fits!" Noxus yelled.

"But, you're not challenging me, Vhozon..." Noxus noticed the reference to specie rather than name. A mind game to make the victim feel insignificant. "...you're challenging Samus' actions. You believe me the cause...but am I really?" Noxus cocked his head slightly, confused.

"How many people know how Samus feels? Does she have emotion at all? Why seal away such human feelings as anger and the typical human desire for power?" the Dark Hunter continued.

"Because...Samus isn't typical." Noxus said feeling stupid.

"In ability, perhaps, but not in mind. I didn't do anything. I battled her once and decided she could not be swayed. Now I realize her path was always this one."

"Let me guess...you lied. You knew she would be swayed!" Noxus challenged. The Dark Hunter looked surprised.

"So, not a typical Vhozon are you, Noxus?"

"No, I'm not." Noxus said proudly.

"Correct. Typical Vhozons are stronger." the Dark Hunter laughed.

Weavel stared in amazement. Noxus had thrown himself at the Dark Hunter. Who knew Noxus hated being referred to as weak that much? The Dark Hunter thrust his arm forward and Noxus hit a barrier, and bounced back.

"Like the suit, Vhozon? It contains a special weapon to fire and create force barriers. One-of-a-kind and resistant to weapons, even the Omega Cannon, although it's a stretch!"

"So you're the weak one! Relying on a suit?" Noxus spat.

"So does Samus..." the Dark Hunter retorted. Noxus fired his Judicator and the Dark Hunter ducked. "Tell you what, Vhozon...defeat Samus in a duel then! It'll prove her determination to follow the path she's going down. Unless you're afraid to fight someone that much stronger than you..."

Noxus looked startled, then said aggressively, "Hiding behind someone else again, coward?" Now it was clear that the Dark Hunter thought Noxus was pressing his luck.

"When you're dead, Vhozon, I will personally go to your icy planet and eliminate the rest of the Vhozon with absurd ease!"

"Empty threat." Noxus replied calmly.

"What?" the Dark Hunter hissed.

"You'll die before me. I guarantee it." Noxus said coolly.

"Why so confident?"

"Simple. Cowards don't fight until they're trapped. By then. you'll have no more shields and it will be revealed that you aren't as invincible as you think!" Noxus smiled. The Dark Hunter stared at Noxus for a long time.

"We'll see Vhozon, although you won't." the Dark Hunter vanished into the shadows and Samus stepped forward. Noxus was wary. After all, it might be possible to get Samus back to normal. This could be just a temporary...his thoughts were cut off as Samus fired the Omega Cannon. Noxus spun into Vhoscythe and spun at Samus, scythe swinging. Samus dodged nimbly, firing the Omega Cannon again.

Noxus had rarely been this terrified before. Each Omega Cannon flash frightened him, and also amazed him that he wasn't dead yet. He returned to biped and fired a charged Judicator shot, which froze Samus, but seconds later she broke free.

"Samus...stop!" he yelled, but Samus raised her arm cannon. "Stop...don't use the Cannon!"

"I must, so everyone respects me!" Samus whispered.

"Who doesn't respect you?" Noxus asked, alarmed. "Everyone knows you're the best in the universe!" Samus didn't respond. Perhaps Noxus was getting through to her.

"None of you 6 do..." she whispered and aimed the cannon again.

"We're rivals, Samus.We respect the stronger, but we still believe we're capable of beating you!" Noxus insisted. Samus ignored him.

"I saved you, Samus!" Noxus yelled. Samus hesitated and Noxus fired the Judicator, freezing her arm cannon.

"You have been manipulated by the weirdo, just like Sylux was! Difference is, you're good enough to break free from his influence!"

"I'm not being controlled!" Samus said, irritable.

"No, you're not, but you forgot why you're the best bounty hunter. You forgot why you became a hunter. Not for hatred or revenge. It was so every person one day would have peace through your efforts. So far it's working." Noxus pleaded. The ice defrosted. Samus seemed unswayed.

"Go ahead, fire your cannon. I can't beat you." Noxus said sadly. Silence in the stadium. Spire groaned. Noxus was going to die, and Spire's work would all be to fuel some madman. Great, all the bad things happened to Diamonts.

_Go ahead Samus...fire the Omega Cannon. He stands before you, refusing to fear you. Claiming to respect you, but refuses to fight. Only those who fight can respect the opponents._ Wait a minute...Samus thought. So she had been tricked. Before, the Dark Hunter said that she was targeted because they didn't respect her, now he was saying that only those who fight you can respect you. Maybe the hunters did respect her, but tried not to show it. She felt a huge sense of relief, like a heavy burden was removed. She shook her head and lowered her arm cannon. Noxus stared back.

"Thanks Noxus..." Samus whispered. Noxus nodded.

"Samus...finish this fool!" the Dark Hunter whispered.

"No. I don't follow orders from people like you." Samus responded.

"Really?" the Dark Hunter whispered sarcastically. Samus aimed her arm cannon at the Dark Hunter.

"Yeah, REALLY." she said loudly. The Dark Hunter looked, for split second, to be alarmed, but the feature vanished, as all of his features did.

"You're a fool, Samus. You will lose everything. All you fought for, will be in vain. You cannot change the universe's destiny. You stand alone against millions. Take a hint from the Gem Ruins. Time and destruction have obliterated the last trace of their existence. They tried to be self-less, like yourself and look what happened. People being killed while hunting for their legacy. Just remember: You are alone. No one..."

"Shut up!" Samus yelled, and the Omega Cannon fired. The Dark Hunter countered with his black rifle, firing a burst of black goo. Weavel and Kanden leapt up to see the struggle. Noxus moved forward to help, but Samus shook her head.

"He's mine!" she declared. The hunters dropped back, amused.

"How long until my Goo Gun absorbs the ability and power of the Omega Cannon?" the Dark Hunter sneered.

"Never." She replied as she fired a missile into the Omega Cannon blast and a huge explosion rocked the stadium. Trace stood up, astounded at the move. The dust cleared and the Dark Hunter was about 50 feet away, panting.

"Clever...but you'll never win. You're alone, and your demise approaches as surely as the Krikens..." A red beam of light struck him in the head and he collapsed a moment, startled.

"Do you ever shut up?" Trace hissed, lowering his Imperialist.

"Hit a nerve have I, Kriken?" the Dark Hunter sneered. With a grin, the Dark Hunter stepped into the shadows and disappeared from view.

Samus sighed. The other hunters had left. It was time to continue the hunt. The True Power had to be destroyed, as did the Omega Cannon. It was clear to her now why it had to be destroyed. It had begun to corrupt her, and she couldn't take the risk. She sealed the cannon in her ship's vault. The hunt would resume, but without the Omega Cannon. She landed at the Gem Ruins and hurried to the Shrine. To her slight alarm, she saw all the hunters waiting. They were all on even ground. Noxus had 1 key, Weavel had 1, she had 1, Trace had 2 (she noticed that Trace was nowhere to be seen but it didn't mean he wasn't there) and Spire and Kanden had 0. As she approached tablet 5, she noticed that 5 key icons were lit on the wall, confirming Trace's presence. After getting the clue, the 6 hunters would separate and it would be every hunter for themselves again.


	17. The Sixth Gem Key

Sylux groaned and awoke. 'What happened?' he wondered. He was sprawled against a wall in the Duel Stadium. "Oh yeah...the duel with Samus. What happened to her?"

"Simple Sylux!" the Dark Hunter sneered, appearing in front of Sylux.

"You planned this?" Sylux demanded, aware that due to his weakened state, his voice was shaky rather than aggressive. The Dark Hunter smiled.

"Of course! Samus is meant to be corrupted, not you. Your added power gave no advantage. Samus had already acquired more power from her own anger. Everything you gained, she already had. Now you, like Samus, will lose everything."

"What do you mean?" Sylux asked.

"You're out. You accomplished my goal in failing yours. However...Samus is free from her own anger again. I really hate Vhozons..." the Dark Hunter mused. Sylux said nothing.

"Your Delano 8 is waiting for you, and your Power Suit is normal again."

"Wait...I keep the Delano?" Sylux wondered. The Dark Hunter was surprised. "It's not Dark anymore, but it's still an upgrade. The Dark Armor saved your life barely, and it shattered protecting you. The Delano 8 is the same as the Dark Delano 8, except it doesn't have Dark Armor either. The flaw was fixed. Good luck Sylux. The True Power may escape your grasp..." the Dark Hunter blended with the shadows again and Sylux sighed. He could still get the True Power and accomplish his goal. He signaled his Delano 8 and flew to the Gem Ruins. Time was running out...

Samus was nervous. All 5 other hunters were waiting for her to decode the 5th tablet. She hoped they weren't going to attack, but she had a feeling they weren't going to. Trace was the one she was most worried about, but he also wanted the official rematch. Noxus wasn't going to attack after risking his life to help her. Spire was looking warily at the other hunters, apparently concerned about the same thing. Weavel was resting about 30 feet away, and Kanden was in Stinglarva. Sylux, if he was alive, would probably have attacked, but he might be dead for all they knew. Sighing, she placed the 5th key and watched the text convert to readable English.

"The 6th is orbiting the moon..." she read. Amazing how much ancient text was written to say that much English. That's when she noticed 2 of the 5 glowing gem icons on the wall had dimmed and gone out. Trace had left. Great...the Kriken had a head start. The hunters nodded to each other and separated. It was back to every hunter for themselves, and woe to the ones who stood in their path.

Trace smirked as Samus read the clue. "...orbiting the moon." Trace's eye lit up. The Crystal Asteroid! He left in a hurry, eager to reach the 6th key before the others. Then he'd have 3 keys and a head start getting the final key. Then he'd have the rematch with Samus and claim hers and then defeat the other hunters to have all 7! The Kriken Empire would honor him above all others. He boarded his Kriken Sniper ship and flew towards the asteroid he had seen the Delano 7 hide by around the time Samus had arrived at the ruins. He researched it and determined it orbited the moon. Such a simple clue...

Trace landed in a cave on the asteroid and exitted. After about an hour of careful searching, he found a small cave that he entered in Triskelion. The interior was quite large, and he smiled. No one else would find the cave until he had the Gem Key. Due to the hidden location, Trace was willing to bet that there was no security, and for the most part, he was right. However, there was a dome shaped barrier surrounding a vault. Trace bet that that was related to a precaution that the key would be safe, even if the asteroid was destroyed. He would have to find the deactivator switch, and he also would bet that the switch would have a great deal of protection, so that the key would not be lost if the asteroid got destroyed. He began his search in the maze-like caverns of the asteroid.

Weavel couldn't care less about the clue at the moment. He was after another hunter. As Noxus was returning to his ship, Weavel struck by firing his Battlehammer. Noxus heard the weapon fire and spun into Vhoscythe, dodging the blast. Startled, Weavel tried to dodge the spinning scythe, but failed, the scythe doing moderate damage, and knocking him backwards, almost off the ledge they were on. Weavel fired his Battlehammer at the Vhoscythe, but the unpredictable movements made this very difficult.

Weavel split into his Halfturret and lunged at Noxus with his Halfturret slash. Noxus returned to biped, charging his Judicator and firing down. Weavel had expected this, and launched his upper body up, and only his turret was frozen, but Weavel returned to biped, preventing extra damage.

"Your shadow freeze can only help so much, Noxus...give me your key!" Weavel demanded. A Judicator shot struck his arm, numbing it with its intense cold. Noxus fired again, and Weavel doubled over, groaning. Noxus charged the Judicator and released, freezing Weavel. Weavel knew that in a few seconds he'd be free, but Noxus punched with enormous strength, shattering some of the ice and taking Weavel's key. Weavel broke free, but the damage was done.

"Give me back my key!" he raged. Then Weavel cried out as some form of energy struck him from behind, effectively draining his energy. Weavel collapsed and Sylux kicked him aside. "Sylux?" Noxus whispered, shocked.

"Yeah. I lived..." he muttered. "So, Nox...what's the clue?"

"Orbitting the moon." Noxus replied, eyeing the Shock Coil with apprehension. Sylux nodded absently.

"The Crystal Asteroid...it would be the one place I was..." he muttered, distracted. Noxus made a beeline for his ship, in case Sylux remembered that Noxus had 2 keys. He flew towards the Crystal Asteroid, which he had passed when he arrived at the Gem Ruins. He came with 2 keys, how many would he leave with?

Meanwhile, Trace had made almost no progress finding the deactivator switch. Annoyed, he searched high and low. After another 20 minutes, he returned to the main room .Maybe he had overlooked something. That's when he saw Spire.

"Hey, Diamont Heir, what are you doing?" Trace called. Spire seemed to stiffen, as if that was possible. Trace remembered almost too late that Spire was incredibly hostile towards him after the extinction comment a while back. He barely dodged the Magmaul shot, but the second one hit him, knocking him backwards. He saw the Dialanche rolling forward like a tank, and morphed to Triskelion, lunging to the side. The Dialanche slammed the wall, bringing large chunks of rubble down. Trace wondered how the Dialanche even fit in the tunnel in the first place. His Triskelion had barely fit! He lunged again, and the Dialanche rolled past, slamming the forcefield, which shook slightly, but did no damage. Trace returned to biped and jumped over the Dialanche, landing on top of the forcefield itself. At the very top of the field, he fell through a hole in the field.

"What the...?" Trace yelled. Inside the field, he saw the vault and...a deactivator switch. "I spent forever looking when all I had to do was jump on the field and walk?" Trace whispered in amazement. Ignoring the Dialanche ramming the forcefield, Trace opened the vault door, and saw the Gem Key on a pedestal. He seized it and flipped the deactivator switch. Immediately, the forcefield around him vanished, and he barely had time to dodge the Dialanche.

Annoyed, Trace fired a missile which hit Spire and Trace hopped back nimbly, waiting. Seconds later, as the Dialanche rolled at Trace, Spire suddenly found himself in biped, and in the second it took for him to realize this, the Imperialist fired at point blank range into Spire's chest. Spire stared up at Trace with a look of hatred and then collapsed, struggling to attack, but ultimately passed out, Trace watching with amusement. "You shouldn't waste your existence, Diamont!" Trace sneered and turned to leave.


	18. Confrontations

Trace exitted the cave and headed to the Kriken Sniper. He had 3 keys, and before long he'd have all 7. It was impossible to fail. He was returning to the Gem Ruins when he saw Noxus' ship (The Eternal Justice, what a stupid name, Trace thought) and Samus' ship. (Good, it doesn't have a stupid name. Trace mused). When they saw him, they both immediately turned around.

'Should I take that as a compliment that they think I have the Gem Key?' Trace wondered, aiming his weapons at Noxus' weapon systems. He fired, and twin Imperialist cannons fired, effectively disabling Noxus' and Samus' weapons. No threat now. He landed at the Gem Ruins and dropped down to the Shrine Gate. He pressed his new key into the 6th tablet and read,

"The Final is not hidden...but in plain view to all. Study the history of our destruction...Dammit!" Trace yelled in fury, firing his Imperialist at the tablet, where it shattered in two. He retrieved his key and left, fuming. His hunt wasn't over, but he wasn't going to let some icy loser or Samus find the key. The True Power was his! A fair distance away he aimed the Imperialist and zoomed in on the spot where the tablets were. Noxus had beaten Samus here, and he looked horrified at the broken tablet, but seemed to be trying to fit the pieces so it was readable. Grinning, Trace fired again, the beam piercing the tablet again, shattering the words into gravel. Noxus stood, Judicator pointed in the direction the beam had come from. Trace moved forward, revealing himself to Noxus.

"Need something, you moronic Vhozon?" Trace sneered.

"Yeah, you damned Kriken...I do. Give me the keys!"

Trace smiled, his eye glinting. "And would you do with them? Hide them so no one can get the True Power? Don't bother...only I know the clue...and no one will stop me." Trace smirked and Noxus aimed his Judicator.

"Give me your keys, Trace!" Noxus yelled.

"Such a temper...why don't you go and yell at the wall a while. Same effect and I can go away from your ugly mug." Noxus' temper broke and he fired the Judicator, but Trace ducked and fired at Noxus.

It barely missed and Noxus leapt forward, bring the Judicator down on Trace like a club, but Trace fired upwards and hit Noxus' left arm, causing him to cry out and grab the injured arm, failing to complete his strike.

"Hurts to be a third rate hunter, eh Nox?" Trace sneered. Noxus glared at Trace and fired again.

"What, hate that nickname too? What about Iceface, or Loser? Can I use those?" Trace taunted, easily dodging Noxus' Judicator shots. The area was so open, that the odds of the bolts bouncing off walls was minimal. Noxus yelled in fury and tried to club Trace again, but Trace morphed to Triskelion and lunged, striking Noxus, who tripped and fell on the ground, helpless. Trace returned to biped and raised his Imperialist.

"Any last requests, Nox?" Trace sneered.

"Yeah, go..." Trace refused to hear the rest of what no doubt would have been an rude statement and fired the Imperialist at Noxus' head, but before the shot was fired, a missile struck the ground at his feet, knocking him aside, the beam missing by an inch.

"...to hell!" Noxus finished, startled he was still alive. Trace glared at the figure on the ledge above.

"Enough, Trace!" Samus yelled.

"Really?" Trace whispered. "What are you going to do about it?" Samus paused and aimed her arm cannon at Trace.

"I'll kill you." she said calmly. Whatever Trace had expected, it wasn't that.

"You think you can?" Trace hissed.

"Easily." Samus said aggressively, trying to startle Trace. It didn't. Trace, on the contrary, laughed.

"Try it then...we'll have our rematch after Noxus dies..." Trace snickered, pointing the Imperialist at Noxus again. Before Samus could respond, a plasma burst fired from above, creating a shockwave that sent Trace's aim off, instead of killing Noxus, it struck his Judicator, disabling it.

"Damn you Sylux!" Trace bellowed in rage. Samus looked up, startled. The Delano...8? Sylux aimed the weapons at Trace.

"Back off Kriken! Make another move and I'll shoot!" Sylux called from within the ship. Trace hesitated for the merest fraction of a second. Then he swiveled the Imperialist and fired at the Delano 8, striking the bridge. The beam, no doubt, struck Sylux because they heard a shout of pain from within the ship. Trace turned back to Noxus and fired, but Samus fired another missile, striking Trace directly, knocking him down. The beam, regardless, hit Noxus in the gut, and he gave a dull groan and collapsed. Trace dodged another missile and grabbed Noxus' unconscious body, using it as a shield. While doing this, he also stole Noxus' keys, surprised that there were 2 of them. Laughing, he ran away as Samus pursued, unwillingly to risk harming Noxus to attack.

Trace boarded the Kriken Sniper and locked Noxus in the prisoner's cell, then flew away from the ruins. He had 5 of the keys and a hostage. No 'righteous' hunter would dare attack 'Nox' while he was aboard Trace's beloved ship. After getting the 7th key, he would release Noxus in exchange for the final key, and the True Power would be his. He felt no guilt or remorse over his attacks on Sylux or Noxus, aside from Noxus had survived, but even Trace wouldn't kill someone he captured or was unconscious. Merely because he wanted the person to know he was being killed. The last conscious moment should be a realization of death. However, since Noxus had been captured, he wouldn't need to kill him yet.

The clue for the final key had been both cryptic and easy, but it meant a lot of annoying searching for the right building. Who cared about a stupid race's history? Who cared why they died out? Suddenly the image of Gorea seemed to jump out at his mind, as vivid as if it were in front of him. Trace flinched, feeling a bead of sweat run down his face. Perhaps the True Power had been another lure...like Gorea had been. Shuddering, Trace focused on getting to some form of history building. He saw it, the 'Boring History of the Ancients' building. Amazed at the builder's honesty in warning of the boring contents, Trace exitted, activating his Kriken Sniper's stealth settings. Now his ship was invisible and immune to radar. He entered the building cautiously and was greatly alarmed to see Kanden there.

"Slughead, why are you here?" Trace yelled, Imperialist ready. No one else had seen the tablet, so Kanden wasn't looking for the key.

"Reading history...why?" Kanden replied and Trace could tell he was honest.

"Why the hell would you read history in a building marked 'Boring History?" Trace demanded. Kanden glanced up, startled to see the Imperialist pointed at him, something he hadn't noticed earlier.

"Wait...if you're not here to read history...why are **you** in a building marked 'Boring History'? Kanden asked suspiciously. "And just as importantly, why are you aiming your gun at me? And even more importantly, why are you so suspicious?" Kanden asked, raising his Volt Driver in a bold attempt of appearing threatening, an illusion easily countered by the fact he was, after all, reading a history tome. Trace stared at him blankly, having stood so still he was invisible.

"I can still see you Trace." Kanden reminded him, thinking Trace was trying to hide.

Samus was searching the Gem Ruins for some clue of where Trace was, but to no avail. She noticed that one of the tablets had been blown to pieces, so she knew Trace had eliminated the clue to the 7th key. Why had he captured Noxus? Trace rarely stooped that low, although...he was a Kriken. Samus sighed. It was her turn to save Noxus in exchange for his rescue of her, but Trace's ship had stealth settings so she wouldn't be able to find it. Her ship's weapons were also still disabled, but were recovering. Why had Sylux helped Noxus and not attacked her? Was everyone's mutual enemy Trace? After all, Trace had attacked every hunter except maybe Kanden, and she doubted they were friends.

Trace always was an arrogant son of a Kriken. Hmm, that phrase isn't very offensive when referring to Trace. She stopped her mental monologue as her radar flashed. "Rival hunter detected!" A picture of Kanden popped up.

"Good...but I'm after Trace!" she muttered, neglecting to investigate Kanden's activities.

Kanden abruptly looked alarmed as he glanced at a beeper. "Tracer in vicinity.

traveling north."

"What's that?" Trace asked, eye narrowed.

"Tracking device on Samus' ship. Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Why are you here?" Kanden responded. Trace glared at Kanden.

"The last key is here, isn't it Trace?" Kanden asked calmly. Trace was visibly startled and Kanden grinned.

"It's not here anymore...I found it and you'll never get it from me!" Kanden laughed. Trace's eye widened in unmistakable fury. Kanden raised his Volt Driver and Trace attacked.


	19. Spire's Past Revealed

Spire flew back to the Gem Ruins. Trace would pay for all he'd done. Spire, upon returning, immediately bumped into Weavel.

"Oh, hi Spire. What's going on? The 6th tablet is in tiny pieces, so we can't proceed in getting the last key." Weavel moaned.

Spire grinned. "Trace got the 6th key, so find Trace, we find the 7th!" Weavel agreed and they began their search for Trace, or another hunter that could help out. After about 10 minutes, they found Sylux.

"He's alive?" Spire whispered, gaping.

"Barely..." Sylux muttered, getting up.

"What happened to you that time?" Weavel wondered.

"Trace was going to kill Noxus and Samus had come to stop him. I tried to stop Trace also, but got an Imperialist beam through the chest. I passed out and must of pressed the 'eject' button because right now I'm on the ground instead of in my ship. Damn Kriken will die for this..."

"Any clue where he is?" Spire wondered.

"No...but Samus is probably looking for him, too. I heard Noxus got captured moments before I passed out. The Kriken is taking hostages!" Sylux growled.

"Curious...why do you care?" Weavel wondered.

"He can trick Samus into giving her Gem Key for Noxus' life. Then Trace will have all 7!" Sylux explained. Spire gasped. He had also remembered that Noxus had 2 keys and Trace had 3, and the clue. Samus had the last one.

"So we should team up, kill Trace, and..." Weavel started.

"Whoa! Slow down...killing Trace is as simple as killing that Dark Hunter!" Sylux protested. Spire looked at Sylux curiously. Weavel had stopped talking, deep in thought.

"The Dark Hunter is nearly invincible. He has a weapon that mimics the abilities and power of any weapon it battles. He beat me because my Shock Coil couldn't increase its power anymore, and short circuited. His weapon can reach astronomical levels!" Sylux explained. Spire groaned.

"And his Power Suit can withstand almost any attack!" Weavel added.

"But Trace isn't that hard...is he?" Spire wondered. Both stared at him.

"Have you beaten Trace?" Weavel whispered.

"No...no one has." Spire muttered. Sylux looked shocked.

"Wait...no one has yet? Every other hunter has lost a duel except Trace?"

"And Samus." Spire pointed out.

Weavel groaned. "Let's go...I have an idea..."

Kanden grinned as Trace lunged forward in Triskelion. Kanden hopped over the Triskelion and fired his Volt Driver, creating a shockwave on impact, but Trace barely dodged the shockwave and returned to biped.

"Give me the key, Slug!" Trace spat.

"Try fighting instead of insulting. You're not good at it." Kanden said, ducking an Imperialist shot. Trace grinned and fired again, hitting Kanden's Volt Driver, disabling it.

"Now you can't fight!" Trace smirked. Kanden looked shocked, and morphed into Stinglarva, slithering towards Trace, who fired a missile and hopped over the giant slug. After dodging another, Trace laughed as Kanden was forcibly returned to biped.

"What have you done, Kriken filth?" Kanden bellowed. Trace laughed, firing his Imperialist at Kanden's leg, preventing an escape.

"Like the effects of my Alt-disabling missiles?" Trace hissed.

"Kill me then!" Kanden sneered.

"I will in the end, but first you'll give me the key, Wormbrain..." Trace raised his Imperialist again. Now that he had finished merely incapacitating his opponents, he enjoyed fighting much more.

"I'll never give it to you!" Kanden hissed. Trace's eye narrowed.

"Why's that? Think I'll let you live until you do?" Trace mocked.

"I never had it...you'll never get it!" Kanden laughed. Trace growled in fury.

"You lie! Hand it over!" Trace demanded, aiming the Imperialist between Kanden's eyes, ready to fire and end the mutant's existence.

"Give me the key and I'll spare you!" Trace lied.

"Who's lying now?" Kanden snickered. Furious, Trace fired the Imperialist at Kanden's other leg, and Kanden collapsed, unable to stand. Trace flipped the experiment over, and pointed the Imperialist at him.

"Farewell then, Sluggy!" he sneered.

"The True Power will never be yours!" Kanden bellowed.

"We'll see...we'll see. You won't, but the universe will. Bye bye!" And Trace squeezed the trigger.

Weavel, Sylux and Spire had separated to search the small village, and Spire had just passed the doorway of the 'Boring History of the Ancients' building when he saw Kanden collapse for no apparent reason. Unconcerned, Spire continued past. Most likely he had fallen asleep for not heeding the sign. Then he heard Trace's sinister hiss.

"The True Power will never be yours!" Kanden nearly screamed. Spire heard the terror and realized what was happening, he rushed inside.

"...the universe will. Bye Bye!" Trace was sneering. Spire fired his Magmaul, saw the projectile fly across the room, and strike the semi-visible Kriken. Trace let out a yell of pain, and turned his Imperialist involuntarily, the beam missing Kanden and burning through a history tome.

"I was reading that!" Kanden complained, unaware that Spire had caused his salvation.

"So, Diamont Heir...you insist on wasting your existence? You will not get lucky this time...the Diamonts are almost extinct, and you return to fight again?" Trace hissed in both fury and amusement.

"Enough Trace...you have to stop your little killing spree!" Spire ordered.

Trace laughed. "It's not a killing spree until someone dies!"

"It'll be you!" Spire bellowed, firing his Magmaul, which set another tome alight. Trace ignored the growing flames.

"No...Kanden will die first if you burn the place down. Diamonts no doubt died out due to their low intelligence in battles. I heard your parents were killed by my bro. He said they begged him to spare them. And he laughed and killed your mother first...an Imperialist to the brain. I'm amazed he hit such a tiny target. Your father begged my bro to kill him, saying his last love was gone. My bro laughed and tortured your fool of a dad by shooting his arms and legs, and left him to slowly die. Lucky for you..." Trace paused as Spire stared in mute horror, seemingly paralyzed by the horror Trace had said.

"You are the last Diamont, due to a lucky twist of fate. My bro shot you, and thought you were dying. You had crawled towards your dying father and dead mother and said the funniest thing ever, according to my bro...you said "Is this a dweam? I'm hungwy." Trace abruptly fell into a mad cackle of laughter and Spire fell to his knees, half-sobbing. He remembered that dream...but he had always thought is was a dream, because when he woke up, he wasn't on his home planet anymore, but was in a training camp. No one knew how he got there, or where he came from. The details of the dream was hazy, but he remembered his parents lying there, not moving while he had a burning pain in his stomach. Had Trace's brother really killed his parents?

"Oh...and Spire. My bro told me that he's the one who put you in that training camp. He wanted you to find him, and try to kill him for revenge. He said 'Trace. If you ever meet a Diamont named Spire...he's alive because of me. I killed his family. I wounded him and put him in a training camp so he'd seek revenge on me. If I die before he find me, do it yourself. Okay brother?' When I asked why he didn't exterminate you and claim the fame, he responded "he wasn't the last Diamont until a year later. If I kept him nearby, I'd be a cheater, so I wanted him trained so killing him would mean something. After all, killing a kid is the coward's way. If he grows up, and then I kill him, it's all good.'" Trace laughed again, relishing the look of horror, anger, and shock on Spire's face.

"Luckily for me, Diamont Heir...my bro died a week before I met you. He reminded me before he died to find you and kill you and keep the fame. He bought me my spaceship as payment and put a bounty on you before he died. So Spire...is that the info you've been searching for? Have I cleared up all the confusing points about your race's past?" Trace snickered. Spire stared up at Trace, too horrified to move. Trace chuckled malevolently and fired his Imperialist at Spire, striking his spine and paralyzing him.

"I think you'd like to reflect on your past before I kill you, so have a good time!" Trace laughed and all went black. When Spire awoke, he seemed to be a cell of some sort. Noxus and Kanden were staring at him nervously.

"What happened?" Spire asked Kanden.

"Trace captured us, too. Noxus has been here for a day, we've been here for a couple hours. Trace wants me dead because I lied about having the 7th key. I don't know where it is!" Kanden whispered. Spire moaned, remembering what Trace had said. Had the Krikens destroyed the Diamonts? Had Trace's brother really been the one who killed his parents and left him at the Training camp?

"It's okay Spire...he might have been lying..." Noxus said sadly. Apparently Kanden had filled Noxus in.

"He wasn't...he knew things no one else could've...the dream I had as a kid fits the description of what happened..." Spire sobbed softly. Noxus looked unsure what to say. If Trace was being truthful...then that meant Spire's years of searching had been wasted. There had been no hope of finding his race, and the Krikens owned Spire's planet, so the only clues were under Kriken control, and there was no way he could've gone there without being killed and the killer claiming the fame of being the one who killed the last Diamont in existence. Spire had joined the hunt looking for clues, and now he had nothing left. The Kriken responsible was dead, and he was emotionally destroyed.

I half expect people to scream at me for being so cruel in how Spire learned of his past.


	20. The Rematch part 1

It was at that point that Spire's disappearance was noticed by Sylux and Weavel.

"Wasn't the boulder with us?" Weavel wondered. Sylux shrugged, not listening at all. Weavel sighed and glanced back.

"Uh...Sylux? Isn't that Trace's ship?"

"Where?" Sylux whirled around. Sure enough, the Kriken Sniper was slowly rising into the air. However, Weavel could tell it was on autopilot.

"Wait...it's on auto. Where would Trace be...?" Weavel muttered.

"What's in that building?" Sylux asked. Weavel approached it.

"Boring History." Weavel said.

"No, what's the building called?" Sylux askd, impatiently.

"Boring History of the Ancients." Weavel read. Sylux looked frustrated, but was close enough to read it himself.

"Oh...you were serious." Sylux mused, entering the building as if afraid to drop dead of boredom. He was close to droppng dead, although a beam of red light was the cause. Weavel followed quickly and saw the irritated form of Trace in the back of the building, sniping at them.

"Die!" Sylux yelled, jumping onto a table and launching himself across the room. Trace looked unconcerned, nimbly dodging the clumsy charge, and firing his Imperialist at Sylux as he passed, pleased at the shout of pain he heard. Weavel fired his Battlehammer wildly, trying not to hit Sylux, but Trace seemed to dodge them all anyway. Trace ran up a small staircase and fired. The beam hit Weavel's Battlehammer, disabling it. Weavel just stared at it in shock and then a missile hit him. It didn't hurt at all, but he felt odd.

"Well...going to half-turret me now?" Trace sneered and fired again. Weavel tried to go into half-turret to dodge, but nothing happened. The beam hit Weavel in the chest, knocking him into the wall. Amazed he was still conscious, Weavel acted like he was unconscious. Hopefully, Sylux would finish off the Kriken.

Sylux was in agony. That accursed Kriken had hit his leg, preventing running and walking fast. He raised his Shock Coil, waiting for the dopey Kriken to try to attack. However, a beam flew over him and struck Weavel across the room, who collapsed. Trace was stronger than normal, since he had seen Trace's first beam disable the Battlehammer. What was Trace's plan? What was he after. He forced himself up and eased around a bookshelf. Trace saw him, and a red beam blasted part of the bookshelf apart and Sylux swore in fury.

"Once you're gone, Sylux, I'll have captured all the hunters but Samus! Samus will fall as well!" Trace sneered, another red beam blasting the bookshelf, debris landing harmlessly on Sylux.

"What's the matter, Lobster? Too scared to fight me close range?" Sylux sneered. A pause.

"Lobster? I've never heard that one before. Was that the best you could do?" Trace snickered. Sylux rolled forward, dodging the last Imperialist shot, which destoyed the bookshelf altogether. Sylux leapt up and fired his Shock Coil, feeling his energy return to him. Similiar to his pattern against the Dark Hunter's kriken doppelganger, Sylux kept moving, but to no avail. Trace's Triskelion appeared, striking him forcibly, pushing him off the upper deck. He landed painfully on his injured leg, but was quick witted enough to dodge the next lunge.

"What's wrong, Sylux? Too weak?" Trace mocked. Sylux ignored him. Brute strength was good in the past, but Trace was tactical, and strength alone wouldn't help. Trace had disappeared again, and Sylux flipped into Lockjaw to dodge headshots. However, a missile flew from a shadowy corner and hit Sylux, who was prepared for the Triangle Bomb technique. Placed one...the second. He realized, too late, that Trace was expecting this, but hadn't moved. Why...? Abruptly he staggered. He had been forced from Lockjaw! A red beam hit him from close range, causing almost immediate blackout, but he fired his Shock Coil instinctively. Trace yelled in pain, and Sylux collapsed, still conscious, and getting stronger as Trace writhed in agony. It wouldn't be long until Trace would fry...a beam of red struck Sylux in the head, causing immediate black out, but his Coil sucked back enough energy to return to consciousness. Trace had fallen to his knees, and Sylux felt the thrill of victory. Then he realized that Trace was grinning.

"No..." Sylux gasped as Trace fired, point-blank range, into the Shock Coil, which sputtered and powered off. Another beam sent his vision into darkness.

Trace panted and stood. "Nice try, Sylux...you almost got me. Now die for the attempt." Trace aimed the Imperialist and paused. _Dishonorable_.

"Dammit...I never kill the unconscious. Capture first. You'll die like all the others, Sylux!" Trace whispered. He turned and saw Weavel was gone.

"The little...oh well. No one can stop me now." He signaled the Kriken Sniper for another hostage. He grinned to himself. He'd kill them with the True Power. He boarded his ship, dragging Sylux's limp body to the prisoner bay.

"SYLUX? NO!" Spire yelled in anger as Trace tossed the body unceremoniously into the cell. Trace smirked at Spire, almost as if sharing a private joke, and mimed firing the Imperialist at Spire's head. Spire lunged at the cell door, ramming it with all his strength. No effect, but an instant later, a powerful electrical shock blasted Spire against the wall. Trace cackled and watched Spire's futile attempt to get up, with cruel amusement. Noxus was sickened by the look on Trace's face.

"I wondered when you'd realize that was there..." Trace snickered.

"You sick, heartless..." Noxus began, but Kanden clamped his hand over Noxus' mouth. Trace grinned and left. Noxus shoved Kanden away, continuing to shout insults at Trace, who was either too far away, or didn't care.

"Shut up Nox!" Kanden hissed. Noxus spun around and punched Kanden hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kanden yelled, startled. Noxus glared at Kanden a moment and sat in a corner for a while. Spire hadn't moved since Trace left, just stared into empty space. _Great_. Kanden thought. _I'm stuck in a cell with two freaks and one depressed guy._ Kanden sighed and lay down. What did Trace want with them? He moaned in annoyance.

Weavel ran like he never ran before. He had to find someone who could help beat Trace. He knew Sylux would lose, and be captured. Trace apparently had captured every hunter but Samus and him. Weavel hoped to maybe find Samus, and that's when he heard a beep.

"Samus in vicinity." Weavel jumped in alarm. He had forgotten that Kanden had placed a tracer on Samus' ship, and due to their early alliance, he had one of the receivers. He typed a message to Samus' gunship. All he could do now was wait, and hope she'd help.

Samus was still searching for Trace when she received a message. 'Samus, help. I'm by the Crystal Village. HELP!' "Hmmm...that sounds urgent." Samus said, somewhat sarcastically. She sighed and dropped from her ship and landed on the outskirts of the village. Weavel ran up to her.

"Need...help...Trace...captured...everyone..." he panted.

"What about Trace?" she asked.

"Trace beat Sylux and claimed that he has captured all the hunters, but I escaped. We need to help them..." Weavel was slowly recovering. Samus pondered this a moment.

"I know what Trace wants..." she said. Weavel looked shocked.

"Just now? He wants the True Power!" Weavel said.

"No...he wants to duel me. We dueled a while back and he promised a rematch. He's capturing you guys so nothing can interfere. If he loses, he'll threaten to kill you all if I don't give him the keys. It's a lose-lose situation." she muttered.

"He's after the last key. Maybe he already has it." Weavel suggested. Samus shook her head.

"No. He'd challenge me if he did. He's got no one to help him this time, since he destroyed the clue. It all comes down to skill." Samus mused.

"Umm...he's got a lot of that you know." Weavel pointed out. Samus laughed cheerfully, to Weavel's alarm.

"Trace is skilled, but he hates searching for things." she pointed out, hurrying towards the 'Boring History' building that Weavel pointed out. If Trace wanted a rematch, she'd give him one. And she planned to free the other hunters as well.


	21. The Rematch part 2

Samus and Weavel cautiously poked their heads through the doorway of the history building. It looked like a war had taken place inside. Bookshelves and books were destroyed, and desks and tables were tipped over.

"Looking for someone?" Trace sneered from the shadows, appearing. Weavel struggled to look frightening.

"You don't fool me, Weavel. Your Battlehammer and Alt are still disabled. Samus is the only threat..and she has an appointment." Trace's eye glinted. Samus glared back, ready for a fight.

"We demolished this place enough!" Trace sneered, gesturing to the history building.

"So...where then?" Samus demanded. Trace hesitated for the merest fraction of a second. "The Duel Stadium! Transportation curtesy of the Kriken Sniper. How about it Aran?" Samus blinked.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

"Simple, the loser hands over anything the winner desires. It won't be a duel to the death, this time around. It's no fun to kill my greatest rival. I want your Gem Key. What do you want?" Trace leered. Samus saw the trick in this offer. He knew that she knew about his hostages. She could go for his keys, or the freedom of the hunters. If she took the keys, he'd kill the hostages, or spare them for the return of the keys. If she took the hostages, he'd still have his keys. The trick was not to lose.

"The freedom of your hostages." she decided. Weavel stared at her incredulously.

"Ha! One Gem Key vs 4 prisoners? Only 1 will go free!" Trace sneered.

"3!" Samus bartered.

"2!" Trace responded. Samus sighed.

"Fine!" she agreed and they shook.

"Which 2?" Trace sneered.

"I'll decide when I win." Samus said simply, and Trace snickered. He signaled his ship and they boarded.

"Since I'm wagering 2 things, if I win, Weavel joins the others!" Trace added sinisterly. Weavel moaned, undoubtly wishing he hadn't boarded the ship.

As Trace piloted the ship, Samus was exploring the ship. It wasn't particularly large, but it did have enough room for about 6 people to walk around comfortably. The prisoner cells were in a separate room, and Samus entered.

"Samus?" Sylux said in surprise. The other hunters except Spire glanced up. Spire continued staring into space. Samus was taken aback at Spire's blank stare.

"What happened to him?" she asked Kanden and Noxus. They exchanged looks, and explained what Trace had told Spire. Samus was horrified, but recovered.

"Was he lying?" Samus asked.

"Spire says no." Noxus said. Samus was thoughtful, but Sylux interrupted.

"When are we getting out?" he demanded.

"Trace and I are having a rematch..."

"Slow down! REMATCH? When was the first?" Sylux asked.

"The Nebula Space Station where the second Gem Key was. Trace wagered our keys and we dueled. I would've lost, but Trace was alarmed by a self-destruct notice and promised a rematch to finish the rivalry. He technically won, but he lost his key during the duel. Now I'm wagering my Gem Key and Weavel..."

"Whoa! Why are you wagering Weavel?" Kanden asked, looking blank.

"Trace added that catch. If I win I release 2 hostages." Samus replied.

"Which 2?" Sylux asked.

"I haven't thought about it. Who's in most danger?" she asked.

"Spire and..." Sylux started, but looked at Kanden and Noxus. "I don't think it matters. Trace wants us all dead." Sylux said hesistantly.

"Why?" Samus wondered.

"Noxus...I have no clue. Kanden lied and told Trace he had the 7th key, but refused to hand it over. Spire saved him last second, and Trace revealed his past. Whichever Kriken kills the last Diamont will be honored by being the one to make the specie extinct, so Spire's in most danger. I nearly killed Trace, so I'm in danger." Sylux finished. Samus sighed. Winning this duel would still leave 2 prisoners. Losing would basically give Trace the True Power.

At this moment, Weavel entered. "Trace says we're there." and he left hurriedly. Samus followed.

Trace landed the Kriken Sniper and he, Samus, and Weavel entered the stadium. He had added a holo screen (holographic TV) to the prisoner cell so they could watch the duel. Spire looked up, hopelessly. Trace was too strong. Samus was the only hunter that didn't know about the Alt-Disabling missiles.

"Hey Scam-us!" Trace yelled. Samus rolled her eyes, glad he couldn't see her face.

"What?"

"I'll change the wager. I'll wager the other 2 prisoners against the Omega Cannon!"

"Hell no!" Samus yelled.

"Well...they'll die promptly when I return anyway." Trace sneered. Back in the prisoners' cell, the prisoners groaned in fear. Samus stared in horror at Trace, who seemed to know she had no choice.

"Fine." she said. Trace smirked.

"Ready?" Trace leered.

"No...she's not ready!" the Dark Hunter sneered, appearing from the entrance.

"What do you want?" Trace demanded. The Dark Hunter's waxy face split into a grin.

"Why, I'm here to watch the duel. Two of the strongest hunters fighting for the lives of 5, and ultimately, the lives of everyone in the universe. Go ahead, now. The future awaits!" The Dark Hunter vanished back into the shadows and Trace fired at Samus. She had been ready, an dodged. Trace hissed in approval, and fired again, barely missing as she dodged again. Samus fired 2 missiles, but Trace morphed to Triskelion and lunged out of the way, returning to biped and firing. The beam hit Samus' left arm, and she yelled in pain. The prisoners moaned. Trace had first blood. Samus leapt into the air, and fired missiles downwards upon the Kriken, who shot upwards. Samus turned to morph ball, and the beam hit the morph ball, causing pain, but no fatal or disabling damage.

Trace was launched off his feet by the missiles, but rolled and fired at the morph ball again, which zipped easily out of the way. Trace grinned and fired an Alt-Disabling missile, which missed. Trace was disappointed, but took it in stride, turning into Triskelion and disappearing. Carefully, Trace edge around the circular room, trying to sneak up on Samus. "Samus, look...!" Weavel began, but Trace returned to biped and fired a fatal shot at Weavel. Weavel ducked and shut up.

Samus was confused. Where was Trace? At that moment, Weavel started to shout a warning, and Samus turned to see Trace fire at Weavel, who ducked and stayed down, silent. Samus fired a missile, but Trace had vanished again. Samus hated how small rubble piles obstructed her view, but remembered that the Omega Cannon had caused them, and decided not to complain about them. She managed to snap back into reality long enough to dodge an Imperialist shot, and retaliated with missiles, all of which missed. This was an intense duel, and Samus knew 5 lives depended on winning.

She leapt from her hiding spot and charged a missile, firing it at Trace, who yelled in fury as it hit, knocking his Imperialist shot off, missing Samus by an inch. Trace fired again, and Samus twisted her body. The beam missed her arm cannon, but hit her side, causing her to fall to the ground. Trace fired a missile, and Samus tried to dodge, but failed. It didn't hurt, but she knew that it wasn't an ordinary missile. She rolled to morph ball and rushed Trace, setting bombs around him, but he leapt onto a pile of rubble and laughed. She did a morph ball bomb jump, but abruptly her morph ball jammed, and she was flipped onto her bck, fully biped.

"What?" she said, shocked.

"Helpless now, Aran. Arm Cannon and morph ball disabled. You never were better than me. I win, so hand over the prizes!"

"It's not over, Trace." Samus said.

"Wait, going for physical attacks now?" Trace sneered. "No..." Samus said. Trace was mistaken, thinking her arm cannon was disabled, when in fact, she had it fully functional. Trace was so cocky, and she planned on taking him down. _Use the Omega Cannon. Finish him!_ said the voice in her head. The Dark Hunter clearly thought those tactics would work, but they wouldn't. She know knew all those thoughts had been planted, because if it was her thoughts in the first place, she knew she had sealed the Omega Cannon, so she couldn't be telling herself to use something she didn't have! She raised her arm cannon and fired an Imperialist shot directly at Trace. The beam hit!

Trace gasped. "Where did you get that?" was the last thing he said before collapsing.

Trace felt elated. Samus was beaten. Her weapons disabled, and she refused to surrender. However, she raised her arm cannon. Trace was startled, but even more so when a red beam struck him in the chest.

"Where did you get that?" he whispered and collapsed. Samus walked forwards, knowing he was down. She moved closer, and he struck. A red beam hit Samus in the chest, and she staggered back. Trace stood, weakened.

"You lost...Aran." He fired again, and Samus collapsed, unconscious. He had defeated her. He was the ultimate hunter. No one was stronger than him now. The fool Samus had tried to use the Imperialist, but forgot to zoom in, making the beam weaker, so he was virtually unharmed. He always zoomed in, and he had beaten her. Weavel yelled in terror as a beam of red light knocked him unconscious as well. Trace signaled his ship for Weavel and took Samus' Gem Key. He bent to take the Omega Cannon.

"WHAT! WHERE IS IT?!" Trace screeched in rage. That filthy human had not brought the Omega Cannon with her! She knew where it was, otherwise he'd have killed her immediately, conscious or not.

"You'll pay for that Scam-us! When I get the True Power, you're the second to go!" _The First is Spire._ he thought to himself.

"Relax, my Kriken friend. The Omega Cannon is not important." the Dark Hunter sneered.

"Why's that?" Trace hissed in fury.

"Samus is too afraid to use it, and sealed it away. The True Power will be yours. All you have to do now is get it." the Dark Hunter said.

"Where's the 7th key, then?!" Trace demanded.

The Dark Hunter considered. "I'm not telling you that. I don't want the True Power. You must find it yourself!" Trace's fury broke and he fired his Imperialist at the Dark Hunter's head. The Hunter didn't even flinch, and the beam, to Trace's horror, rebounded and struck himself, knocking him to the ground.

"My helmet reflects headshots, and you're lucky you're alive. Goodbye, Kriken." the Dark Hunter laughed and exitted the Stadium. Trace returned to his ship, throwing Weavel into the cell.

"Aren't you gonna capture Samus?" Sylux asked, hopefully. Spire snapped, smashing his rock fist into Sylux's face, knocking him into the cell wall, where he slumped unconscious, but awoke a few minutes later. Trace snickered and ignored the question. The ship rose into the air and returned Trace to the 'Boring History' building. The 7th key was somewhere in these Ruins, and the history would tell it all.


	22. The Final Gem Key

Samus stirred and awoke. What happened? It all came back in a flash. She had lost the rematch with Trace. She had let her guard down, thinking Trace was down. He had been wounded, and strong enough to finish her off! Actually, she wondered why Trace hadn't killed her. No doubt he realized she didn't have the Omega Cannon with her. Great. Now it was a race. If Trace found the 7th key first, then the True Power was his. If she found it, she might be able to stop Trace. She signaled her gunship and hurried to pick up the trail. Trace's tactics had gone too far, and she had to stop him!

Spire had returned to staring into space and Noxus was pacing, agitated. Samus had lost, and Trace would have almost no obstacles to claiming the True Power. Kanden was deep in thought, but Sylux was glaring at Spire. Weavel was still unconscious.

"I got it!" Kanden suddenly yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Sylux hissed, louder than Kanden. Trace returned to the cells.

"What's the noise about here?" Trace sneered.

"I don't know. Get out of here, you stink," Noxus retorted. Trace blinked. Then he raised his weapon and fired. Neutrinos fired, striking Noxus, who yelled in agony, collapsing to the ground, writhing. The intensity of the neutrinos increased every second and soon Noxus was screaming, his body twisting. Spire turned his gaze away, unable to bear the sight. Sylux looked paralyzed with horror, but couldn't think of anything to do to help. Noxus stopped writhing, but was now twitching, still screaming. Trace finally stopped. and Noxus stopped screaming, but was sobbing weakly, still twitching.

"You forget, Vhozon...your life means nothing to me. The same with the rest of you. So unless you want to roast alive, you might want to consider what you say." Trace hissed menacingly.

"Where'd you get the Shock Coil?" Sylux whispered.

"I have all your weapons. The Battlehammer, Judicator, Magmaul, Shock Coil, Imperialist, of course, and Volt Driver. Now shut up!" Trace turned and left the cell room. Everyone, including Weavel, who revived in time to see the torture, stared at each other, then at Noxus.

"We need to get the hell out of here..." Weavel whispered.

Trace reentered the History building. He had seen a tome that told of Crystal Keys, although he wasn't interested in Crystal Keys. He read the first few pages.

"Blah, blah, blah...Crystal keys were great at sealing doors...there were 6 Crystal Keys...A replica of a Crystal Key is at the Museum..." Trace read this line over and over. What if the Crystal Keys were called Gem Keys when sealing the True Power. The replica could be real, but as an antitheft, called a replica. 6 known Crystal keys, and the relica would make 7. Considering this almost too easy, Trace decided to investigate anyway. It could be worth the effort. He continued reading to determine where the museum was. Apparently, it was across the entire planet, miles from the Gem Ruins. Trace puzzled over this for a while, but returned to his ship. It was the best clue he had. He set the coordinates for the museum and settled down. No one would be able to stop him. Not even Samus could hope to prevent the inevitable end. It was at that moment that there was a huge bang from the prisoner bay.

Startled, Trace morphed to Triskelion and hid in corners, approaching the door. Trace activated his security camera and saw the cell door blasted apart, and the 5 hunters trying to quietly exit the cell. Trace swung the door open and fired wildly. He hit Sylux, and missed his other shot. "How did you open the door!" Trace demanded. Weavel lunged forward, but an Imperialist shot sent him sprawling back to the ground.

"You forgot to disable one thing!" Kanden explained.

"No, I got everything!" Trace insisted. Then Spire fired a Magmaul burst, setting Trace alight.

"The Magmaul." Kanden finished, unnecessarily. Trace howled with pain and rage, lunging forward in Triskelion. However, Noxus dodged and slammed the cell door, trapping Trace, however temporarily. The 5 hunters each grabbed a Gem Key from Trace's vault just outside the cell doors. (Trace had one with him, and it was spared. It was the one he won from Samus.)

"Let's go!" Noxus urged, wincing from the pain from his Shock Coil torture. A loud explosion echoed from the prisoner bay, and the hunters each hit the eject button to be teleported to the surface.

Furious, Trace blasted his prisoner bay and glanced in his vault. All his Gem Keys were gone! He scowled, and remembered the one he won from Samus. It wouldn't matter who had the other Gem Keys, as long as he had one. He continued towards the museum and landed quickly, using his Imperialist to detect enemies in the building. Nothing. He entered the building and hurried around it, searching for the Gem Key. It had to be here! Then he saw the sign. 'Crystal Key replica. Do not touch!' by a display case. He examined the crystal inside it, comparing it to his Gem Key. Identical in every way, although the 'Crystal Key' was silver, while the Gem Key was green. His eye narrowed. Too easy. Why had it never been stolen before? Such a sloppy defense, for the Gem Key that could open the Gem Shrine.

He fired his Imperialist, shattering the display case. However, he heard a strange sound in the doorway, and turned, ready to fight. Nothing was there. Puzzled, Trace reached for the Crystal Key, eye still watching the doorway. He grasped nothing, and turned.

"WHAT? HOW COULD IT BE GONE?" Trace bellowed in fury. He signaled his Kriken Sniper and entered, activating the Imperialist Cannons. Any fool who dared interfere would regret it. He fired, 100 feet above the museum, and hissed in glee as it burned to pieces. If anyone was there, they were dead. He fired again, and again, and again. All that remained of the building was gone, only ashes. Whoever had taken the Gem Key would pay with their life. He activated his tracking system and studied the screen. No lifeforms had ever been in the building aside from himself, but that didn't make any sense! Eye twitching, Trace returned to the Gem Ruins. They'd have to show up sometime, and Trace would kill the one who did it.

The Dark Hunter watched the show with amusement. The foolish Kriken had quite the temper problem. Understandable...and amusing. He had lost 6 Gem Keys and his prisoners in one go. He was back to square 1, quite literally, as Trace was in possession of 1 Gem Key almost from the beginning. The Dark Hunter held the silver Gem Key, tossing it a few inches up and catching it again. Facts were facts. No one was stronger then the Leader of the Dark League. Trace could've joined, but the Kriken, he knew, was too arrogant, and that made him unworthy of the 'Dark' title. The Dark League was intended to give the group power, but make sacrifices to gain it. The Dark Hunter smiled and vanished into the shadows. He had one more matter to attend to, and the only way to do it was to give up the Gem Key...

From this chapter on, almost all the chapters have a mix of action and plot or just action. This is also one of the last single part chapters. The finale is coming.


	23. The Gathering

The five escaped hunters were still running. If Trace saw them, they'd fry. It wasn't until they reached the Gem Ruins that they stopped.

"Back to original plan? All for themselves?" Kanden panted. Sylux and Weavel stared at him incredulously, and Spire had blanked out again. Noxus was trying to signal his ship.

"We all need to recover. Get your ships!" Noxus said. Everyone but Spire nodded, and they all signaled for their ships. Weavel's small craft flew to Weavel, who hopped in and flew off a ways, making room for other ships. Weavel activated his 'Repair' system and went to his recharge station. Noxus' Eternal Justice..._Wow what a stupid name._ Sylux thought...flew over and Noxus was beamed up, where he activated his recharge station. The Delano 8 (No one dared think about what a stupid name that was) beamed Sylux up. Kanden's craft, Poison beamed Kanden so he could recharge. Spire's 'Avalanche' beamed him up as well. After about a half-hour, they all regrouped.

"See you guys. We're back to enemies!" Sylux said, walking away from the Gem Shrine.

"SYLUX!" Weavel shouted. Sylux turned, startled.

"What?"

"Look..." Weavel said, pointing at the Gem Gate. All 7 icons were lit. Sylux gasped. The Kriken Sniper passed overhead, seemingly not seeing them. One icon vanished.

"Trace still has one." Noxus whispered.

"The one he got from Samus." Kanden explained.

"Then who has the last?" Spire asked, first thing he had said for over an hour. He still sounded blank, and Noxus glanced at him in concern.

"Hmmm..." Kanden glanced at a screen.

"Not Samus...and not Trace. None of us." Kanden replied.

"How do you know not Samus?" Sylux demanded, snatching the screen. He gasped in amazement.

"You put a tracer on Samus' ship?" Sylux asked, awed.

"That's right. But you forgot: Samus might not be in her ship!" Weavel snorted. At that moment, Samus' ship appeared from the north and landed nearby.

"How'd you get away?" Samus asked, but the gem icons startled her. 5 were lit.

"You stole 5 keys?" she whispered, startled. Each hunter raised theirs, but Spire tossed his to her. She caught it, confused.

"Keep it. You tried to save us all. I'm out. I'm leaving." Spire said, walking away.

"Spire..." Samus began.

"If I stay, Trace'll try to kill me. I'm done. I'm retiring." Spire said, not looking at them.

"But..." Noxus began.

"No buts!" Spire exploded. "I became a hunter to search for my race. They're gone. And every Kriken in the galaxy will search for me so they get the honor." Spire turned away again. "I've had enough. I'm leaving." He continued walking away.

"Spire...wait!" Noxus called.

"Get lost Vhozon." Spire muttered. Noxus looked shocked.

"Are we still friends?" Kanden called, half-mockingly. Spire grabbed a huge block of rock and flung it at Kanden, whose eyes widened in terror, but Samus fired a missile and cracked it in half, missing Kanden by inches.

"Spire..." Weavel yelled, but Spire ignored him, disappearing around the corner. The hunters all stared at that spot, half-hoping Spire would come back around that corner. After 5 minutes, they realized that Spire wasn't coming back. They separated, too distracted to remember what their goals had been. They would remember them in time, but for now they didn't care. One of the 7 had left, and they'd probably never see him again.

They were half right. Spire was leaving, and he would head to some distant planet and never see them again. However, there was a change of plans. Spire stood, overlooking a canyon. He was still deep in thought. He knew leaving was the best option. If for nothing else, for his safety. He had no chance of getting the True Power, so he had no protection against the Kriken Empire.

_Then get the True Power..._

I can't.

_Sure you can..._

How?

_Get the Omega Cannon..._

I'm not strong enough.

_Have you not noticed your mental dialogue?_

"What?" Spire said out loud and heard laughter behind him. The Dark Hunter was watching with amusement.

"Really, Spire...you make talking to you amusing. You have a dialogue in your head, and you act like that's normal. I even threw in a random sentence, and you still continued talking. The Omega Cannon is sealed away. Samus has it, but Trace owns it. Spire...you are stronger than you think. You're just depressed because the Diamonts are gone. Leaving is the wrong course..."

"Wait...Trace was telling the truth?" Spire asked, desperately. The Dark Hunter cocked his head to the side, regarding Spire curiously.

"Do you think he was honest, Spire?"

"No...but it fits." Spire said. The Dark Hunter laughed.

"Spire...does it matter?" Now aggravated, Spire raised his Magmaul.

"It sure hell does! I spent over 20 years searching!" The Dark Hunter ignored the weapon.

"What are you going to do? Leave? Considering you abandoned the hunt, I'd say that's what you think is the path. You're wrong. The way to save yourself is to kill all the Krikens. Whether it be today or 140 years, the Diamonts will be extinct. There are no more female Diamonts, so the species are soon to be extinct anyway. Better to die fighting then to die in solitude, wondering whether your existence could be better. Boring lifestyle waiting to die and hiding. You're pathetic!" the Dark Hunter seemed almost furious.

"What?" Spire yelled back, angry.

"You're pathetic! The Diamonts are doomed anyway, so to slow down until their extinction, you want to hide and have a boring lifestyle! What fool does that? Even Samus and Sylux know that self-preservation is useless if you're the last one! Who cares how they die? They take the risk every day, knowign they could die! Whether it's an asteroid smashing your ship, or a Metroid sapping your life energy, you could die anytime! So to forestall the moment of extinction, you want to hide from everything!" Spire stared at the Dark Hunter in shock.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Spire demanded.

"I'm the Leader of the Dark League. I want to make others know how strong they are. Some have to tap into anger, others need to tap into their fear. You need to tap into your anger and fear. What's the thing you fear? Extinction. What can you do about it? Nothing. Know the truth, and it's a fact. Fear is something that cannot be helped. You can't stop the Diamonts from dying out. You can stop yourself from dying today. Take this...and fight for the True Power. Win or lose...it hardly matters. If you die fighting, you'll be remembered as the last Diamont, who lost the battle, but refused to hide. Bravery is respected, as is power itself." The Dark Hunter tossed a silver crystal and Spire gasped.

"If you win...eternal glory. The Last Diamont, Spire, became the strongest in the universe. Then you can avenge the Diamonts by liberating your home world. The Kriken Empire, single-handedly defeated by the last of the specie they destroyed. You'll give others hope, and they'll strike back as well. The Krikens will fall, and history will always remember you...even if you die later." With a laugh, the Dark Hunter vanished.

Trace landed his ship at the Gem Gate. He was unsurprised to see all the hunters there. However, only 6 icons were lit. He made no aggressive move, and neither did the others. Wary, Trace stood in a shadowy corner, nervous with every hunter staring at him.

"Why are we all here?" Kanden finally asked.

"Wait...none of you has the 7th Gem Key?" Trace screeched. Samus stared at him.

"We thought you had it."

"If I did, I'd take you all down and get the True Power. There's a catch. We need to read the 7th tablet!"

"I can do that!" Spire said, appearing, holding the 7th key. Immediately, every hunter pointed their weapons at Trace.

"Move, and we shoot!" Samus said, obviously grinning.

"Fine...damn it! I won't kill Spire. Yet." Trace said, eyeing the weapons. Spire smirked at him as he passed. The 7 icons lit up again, but nothing else changed. Spire lifted the 7th tablet, and placed the key in.

Chapter 23 is done. Sorry for a pure-plot chapter.


	24. Battle for True Power part 1

Author Note: Due to an error early in my writing, I realized I created 8 tablets. This note is only for those who remember there were 8 tablets, as I'll later be editing my previous chapters to put them back to the intended 7. (There's 6 now since Trace destroyed one)

The tablet glowed yellow and the text was replaced by English. "Unite the 7 Gem Keys and place them at the door." Spire read. He tossed his key to the doorway and one of the glowing icons turned black as the key was sucked into the wall. Trace tossed his, and the fifth icon burned black. Every hunter followed suit, and when all icons were black, the ground began to shake. After a few moments the wall slid open, revealing a passageway. After glancing around, one by one, they all walked inside. At the end of the passageway, there was a large circular room. As the 7 hunters spread out, Samus started to wonder. 7 hunters had entered...but who would get the True Power.

"Well done hunters!" laughed the cold voice of the Dark Hunter, who stood in the center of the room.

"What do you want?" Noxus demanded.

"Shut up Vhozon!" the Dark Hunter sneered.

"Make me, Coward!" Noxus shouted back.

"If you desire your death..." the Dark Hunter sneered. Noxus raised his Judicator and fired, but the Dark Hunter dodged wth ease. Everyone but Noxus stepped back a few paces, but the Dark Hunter looked bored.

"You bore me Vhozon!" he laughed.

"What do you want!" Noxus demanded again.

"At the moment, Vhozon...nothing. It's what you want. You all want the True Power, who cares why? How do you get it? Simple. You should have caught up with your reading...or did you?" the Dark Hunter stared at them all and finally Trace muttered something.

"The Kriken knows, does he?" the Dark Hunter mocked, as if suggesting the others were incompetent because of this. "So, what did you know?"

"Only one can take the power. It's irrelevant. There's only one power!" Trace sneered.

"None can proceed until one remains..." Samus said quietly. Everyone turned in surprise, except Trace, who had known Samus had read the tablet due to their first duel.

"You know what this means? You must fight to see who deserves the Power. Who will triumph over the other 6?" The Dark Hunter sneered. With a sinister laugh, the Dark Hunter seemed to vanish into the floor.

As if an invisible signal went up, the hunters began the battle. Weavel was the first person who fired, his Battlehammer launching projectiles that exploded with green energy, an explosion that dealt considerable damage to anyone unlucky enough to fall into its field. Trace immediately dodged behind a pillar as a charged Magmaul burst flew at him. Spire ignored the rest of the hunters, eager to revenge himself upon the Kriken. Samus and Sylux ended up being in a grudge match and Noxus was battling Kanden. The battle for the True Power had begun, and the majority of it would be personal grudge matches.

Sylux fired his Shock Coil, eager to tear Samus apart, but she countered with a missile, causing his aim to target Spire, who yelled in rage, rolling into Dialanche and rolling at Sylux, lava blades swinging. A missile flew across the battlefield, barely missing Spire, who returned to biped, intent on preventing Alt-Disabling from Trace. The hunters were going to battle it out until only one remained. The winner would claim the True Power.

Noxus dodged a Volt Driver shot, charging his Judicator. He hopped over a Battlehammer burst from Weavel and fired the Judicator down. Immediately, everyone except Samus, Sylux and Trace froze. Samus and Sylux were battling on higher ground, and Trace was behind a pillar. Noxus fired 2 shots into Kanden's face, shattering the ice and Kanden bellowed in pain and rage. A Volt Driver lob struck Noxus, blasting him backwards and he collapsed, view hazed. Kanden laughed sinisterly and slammed his foor on Noxus' chest.

"Well, well Vhozon...looks like I win!" Kanden hissed. A Battlehammer bolt hit Kanden, who bellowed in agony. Like all the other fighting pairs, Kanden had become oblivious to the others, resulting in overconfidence.

"Can't win that easy, Kanden, old pal!" Weavel laughed, firing at Kanden, ignoring the recovering Noxus. Kanden dodged more Battlehammer bolts and fired his high velocity shots, trying to stun Weavel, but Weavel was too fast. Noxus didn't mind if Weavel took his place in that fight for now. The evildoers would die in the end and Justice would be served at last. He ducked an Imperialist shot from the shadow of the pillar and returned fire with the Judicator.

Spire, annoyed over the intrusion, fired his Magmaul at Noxus, who countered with his Judicator, neutralizing the shot. Now Spire was fighting Noxus, Weavel was battling Kanden, and Trace seemed content to just watch the fights. Sylux and Samus continued their circling battle, neither successfully scoring significant damage. They were so far the only hunters not to switch opponents. That could change, because an Imperialist beam flew over Samus' head. Sylux whirled on Trace in fury, and Samus fired her missiles at Trace. Trace's laughter vanished a moment, realizing he was facing 2 on 1.

Trace concentrated on forcing his opponents back, at the same time aiming to incapacitate. He would claim the True Power, even without the Omega Cannon. The memory of being cheated filled him with anger and he aimed more ferociously at Samus, hoping for a fatal shot. The battle for the True Power had changed all the hunters in ways they didn't even realize. But Trace knew how he had changed. He had become more powerful then legendary hunter Samus Aran, and it was his destiny to seize the power and conquer the universe. He would be eternally honored by the Kriken Empire as the one to make the Empire invincible, and for eliminating the last Diamont. Nothing could change that now. The battle had begun...

TO BE CONTINUED...


	25. Battle for True Power part 2

The battle continued, Weavel and Kanden were battling fiercely, while Spire and Noxus fought, countering the other one's attacks. Samus and Sylux fought Trace, who was battling with incredible speed and ferocity. No one scored any significant hits, although there were a few few minor blows. Weavel dodged the Volt Driver shots, counterattacking with the Battlehammer. Kanden was just as agile, and was jumping in several directions, narrowly missing the Battlehammer rounds and explosions.

Kanden charged his Volt Driver, firing at the ground at Weavel's feet. The resulting explosion of energy blurred Weavel's vision, and he was unable to pinpoint Kanden's next shot, yelling in frustration as the energy bolts rained on him. Shaking off the effects, Weavel fired several Battlehammer shots in a circle, forcing Kanden into a single location.

As if planned, a red beam lanced across the room, striking Kanden in the leg. Although it did minimal damage, Kanden was thrown off balance. Weavel took advantage of the momentary incapacitation and fired his Battlehammer quickly, intending on completing the task of defeating Kanden. Kanden morphed into Stinglarva, laying sting bombs, which homed in on Weavel, sending shocks through his cyberneic body.

Spire's Magmaul shots were nearly continuous, and Noxus was struggling to dodge or counter them all. Spire rolled into Dialanche and rolled forward, lava blades swinging. Noxus leapt over the Dialanche, firing the Judicator. The icy bolt bounced off the floor and barely missed Weavel, who didn't even notice it whizzing past. Spire charged his Magmaul, unleashing the superheated projectile. It struck Noxus, setting his icy form alight.

"Arrrgggghhhh! Get it off!" Noxus yelled, running in a circle wildly. Spire fired more balls of magma, some which hit, most that exploded, doing no harm to anyone. Seconds later, Noxus was free from the burn, intent on finishing the fight.

All alliances or friendships between the hunters had faded. There was only the burning desire to claim the power for themselves. Joining the hunt had boiled down to this last fight. The fight that would decide the fate of the universe. Noxus had to win to save the universe from evil. He charged his Judicator and fired at Spire, freezing him momentarily. Noxus fired his Judicator twice more, but Spire's heated body shattered the ice, enabling him to dodge the 2 shots.

Spire rolled into Dialanche and rolled forward as Noxus spun into Vhoscythe. They charged each other, blades spinning. They collided, and each was knocked back about 10 feet, bodies burning from the slash of the other's weapon. Spire lunged again and Noxus dodged the first blade, his own slamming into the boulder. Spire was knocked back further, returning to biped.

Noxus also returned to biped and they circled each other, weapons charging. At the same time, they lunged at the other, releasing their charges. Noxus yelled as he was set alight, and Spire was frozen. Noxus fired the Judicator again, but a red beam fired and struck Noxus' shoulder, doing minor damage, but also causing his aim to go awry, ironically hitting Sylux. Sylux fired his Shock Coil at Noxus, who spun into Vhoscythe, blade spinning. Spire joined Samus in fighting Trace.

Trace was having the time of his life. He was battling 2 hunters again. He fired his Imperialist, barely missing Spire. Neither Samus or Spire was advancing on his spot, but they continued firing at him. Trace dodged the missiles and Magmaul with ease, returning fire with the Imperialist. He was also the only hunter of the 7 who was paying attention to other battles, allowing him to manipulate the fights.

If timed properly, he could fire his Imperialist and cause the target to attack another hunter, which would lead to an opponent change. It really was quite amusing. He ducked a missile and fired his Imperialist, which missed Spire, but hit the Stinglarva, who returned to biped as Kanden. Kanden fired his Volt Driver at Trace, but the bolt hit Spire.

Trace laughed as Spire rolled into Dialanche and charged Kanden. Weavel continued fighting Kanden and Spire, so only Samus was battling Trace.

"You'll never win, Aran!" Trace sneered, firing again. Samus rolled into morph ball to dodge, returning to biped immediately afterwords, firing missiles.

"I'm not finished, Trace!" Samus replied calmly, although Trace sensed a tiny bit of panic. Trace, under cover of the pillar, morphed into Triskelion, then inched around the pillar. Samus hadn't noticed yet, so intent on flushing out the Kriken. Trace snuck along the perimeter of the room, returned to biped, and fired. The red beam lanced across the room, aimed perfectly at Samus' head.

She hadn't reacted, but a misfired Judicator bolt bounced off a wall and hit Samus' leg. Caught off guard, she stumbled, and Trace rolled his eye in annoyance as the Imperialist shot flew over her head by a millimeter. Samus turned to the source of the Imperialist and saw Trace leering at her. However, they were across the room now, and Samus fired a missile, which Trace dodged.

Trace's next Imperialist bolt flew at Noxus, narrowly missing. Noxus turned to confront Trace, and Sylux returned to battle Samus. The battles raged on. Noxus vs Trace, Spire vs Kanden vs Weavel, and Sylux and Samus. No one had yet taken significant damage, although so far that was purely luck.

Spire spun his Lava Blades, and Weavel groaned as he was knocked back a few feet, firing his Battlehammer at both Kanden and the Dialanche. Kanden was attempting to repel the Dialanche using his Volt Driver, but he was having little effect. Weavel separated himself, gleefully watching as the Half-turret fired Battlehammer shots at the two rivals. Unexpectedly, an Imperialist struck the turret and Weavel yelled in shock and minor pain. The turret shared his energy, and now he had less health.

He returned to biped, enraged and fired his Battlehammer at Trace, realizing, too late, that Noxus was battling Trace. The splash energy of his Battlehammer hit Noxus, who turned on Weavel, Judicator firing. Trace snickered and inched away, in Triskelion. Sylux and Samus were still battling, Kanden and Spire continued their battle, and now Noxus and Weavel were fighting.

He, Trace, was now able to attack anyone, and defeat them. Only one would get the power, and it'd be him. He raised his Imperialist and aimed at Samus. She would pay for quitting out on their bargain. The Omega Cannon belonged to him! Smiling, he lowered the Imperialist. He smirked and scurried across the room in Triskelion. He would have revenge, and it would grant him the True Power.

Meanwhile, the battles were becoming more intense, and everyone had taken some damage. The battle for the True Power was still raging, and only one could win. _None can proceed until one remains..._

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 3 will be up soon.


	26. Battle for True Power part 3

Sylux fired his Shock Coil at Samus. He circled her as she constantly broke the Shock Coil lock, passing Weavel and Noxus' fight, ignoring them. Spire and Kanden were still battling, neither giving up. Sylux fired his Coil again, and the lock held. Samus struggled to fight the lock, finally firing a missile at Sylux's Shock Coil. Sylux yelled in pain, his Coil temporarily shut down. He flipped into Lockjaw, taking advantage of her momentary recovery to set a tripwire, then swing around to lay the third, and perhaps fatal, bomb.

The triangle closed in, but Samus, with one hand, propelled herself upwards, flipping in midair, and landing behind Sylux's biped form. As he turned, a missile struck him in the head, knocking him to the ground.

_You're a fool Sylux. To think you were in the Dark League. So weak..._a voice sneered in his head. Sylux raised his head a few inches, seeing the world had vanished, and he seemed to be floating in a black abyss. The Dark Hunter stood before him, laughing.

"What's going on?" Sylux demanded. The Dark Hunter gazed at him with cruel satisfaction.

"You're dying Sylux...you seem to have lost your touch. At least the Dark League won't be embarrassed by your weakness now. Samus killed all our members to date!" the Dark Hunter laughed, and Sylux scowled in rage.

"Don't you care?" he nearly screamed.

"Frankly, no. I tried to make you strong...but a weakling is always a weakling. Good-bye Sylux!" The world swirled around him, a black ocean of darkness enveloped him.

"Nooooooo!" Sylux wailed and he knew no more.

The fights had stopped for mere moments as everyone stared at Sylux's body. Samus seemed startled. He had been weaker than she thought. Her missile must of wiped out all of his energy. She stared at the body for a while longer, before turning her attention to the doorway to proceed. There used to be 7 golden lights, now there were 5. Wait...5? She searched the room again. Weavel and Noxus had resumed their fight, and Spire and Kanden had simply stared at Sylux another moment before dismissing it and continuing their battle.

Samus wondered whether any of them cared about Sylux. Trace probably wouldn't...where was Trace? 5 lights remained lit, and that meant Sylux was out...but where was Trace? She searched the room frantically. Trace's disappearance was nerve-wracking due to he seemed like he'd be the last hunter to quit. Where was the Kriken?

Trace snickered as he entered Samus' ship.

"You're not Samus!" the ship's computer protested. Trace ignored it.

"Enter authorization code or you will be shot!" the computer warned.

"SR 388!" Trace replied promptly. There was a moment of silence.

"Correct..." the computer replied. Stupid machine, Trace thought. Samus' authorization code was simple. Trace was an experienced sniper, and a hacker. She thought her files on a public computer were safe, yet she used her authorization code as a password. He had hacked into her files ages ago. He had more access to the Federation files now than any hunter alive, excluding Samus.

He made his way to the ship vault. Samus even had blueprints of her gunship on the public computers, which he had studied ages ago, in order to either infiltrate or weaken later. He equipped the Shock Coil, carefully firing at the edge of the safe, slowly melting the door. After about 5 minutes, he was able to use the Imperialist to blast the door off. Inside the safe was the Omega Cannon, and a file labeled 'Next Mission'. Trace seized the cannon, downloading the information into his arm cannon. He flipped through the file, and stopped at a page describing a Kriken controlled planet.

He narrowed his eye thoughtfully. What business did she have at a Kriken planet? He shrugged and copied the document onto his own file computer. He'd study it later, and perhaps be able to prevent the mission altogether. He grinned and returned to the Gem Shrine.

The battles were still raging, but Samus was even more concerned about Trace's disappearance. She glanced around the room carefully, and a beam of red streaked past her.

"Looking for me, Scam-us?" Trace sneered. Samus fired a missile in retaliation, and Trace dodged, firing his Imperialist again. Trace seemed in better spirits than normal, and Samus felt uneasy. Where had he gone? Why was he so pleased? Trace hesitated a moment near Sylux's body.

"What happened to him?" Trace wondered.

"Got hit with missile," Samus replied, firing again. Trace ducked last second and fired the Imperialist again, the beam hitting Noxus, who cried out and collapsed, struggling to stand. Weavel smirked and began firing close-range. Noxus seemed to weaken, to grow limp. Spire, enraged by the tactic, fired his Magmaul at Weavel, knocking him off-balance. Kanden, furious at Weavel for their earlier battle, helped out.

"And it all continues!" Trace sneered, referring to the opponent swap. Samus fired her Power Beam at Trace, most of which hit, but Trace shrugged them off, firing his Imperialist. Samus dodged, and abruptly a huge, slow moving, golden orb flew towards her. Trace laughed as Samus stared in horror. The Omega Cannon!

She let out a yell of horror before going into morph ball, boosting in the direction of the pillar, needing some form of shelter from the blast. She barely made it. The flash of light, and the massive shockwave filled the room, knocking her to the ground. She barely had taken damage, but could be worse. Spire, Noxus, Weavel and Kanden were blasted off their feet, slamming into the wall. Trace watched this with amusement.

"Like the Cannon, Scam-us?" he sneered.

"How'd you get in my ship?" Samus demanded.

"Oh...I paid a visit to **SR388!**" Trace sneered, emphasizing the last words. Samus gaped at him, shocked. How'd he figure out her authorization code? It was a planet she rarely visited, so she thought no one but herself would know it.

"Now...I'll use it to defeat all of you and claim the True Power!" Trace laughed and fired again, this time directly at the pillar Samus was behind. Samus didn't move. She was still behind the pillar, so the Cannon wouldn't do much. The explosion and flash were just as terrifying, especially at close range.

"Now...Spire's death approaches!" Trace sneered, aiming the Omega Cannon at the quivering Diamont.

"Good-bye, Diamont Heir!" Trace whispered, firing. The bolt flew at Spire, who gazed at the projectile, hopelessly. It was over for the Diamont.

A flash of light, and Trace laughed. The force of the blast was so great that everyone in the vicinity flew across the room, slamming forcibly into the wall. When the dust cleared, Spire was still alive. A bit out of breath, but not damaged greatly.

"What?" Trace hissed, furiously. Samus squinted at the area around the blast zone. Weavel seemed way too weak.

"What'd you do?" Noxus whispered to Weavel. Trace's eye widened in shock. Weavel had leapt in front of the blast and went to half-turret. The turret took the blast, protecting Spire, at the cost of most of Weavel's energy. Trace suddenly grinned demonically.

"It doesn't matter! I'll just shoot again until Spire is dead!" Trace snickered and took aim. Spire struggled to stand, so he could try to fight or dodge, but he couldn't. Spire knew it was the end of the Diamonts.A flash of energy and the whoosh. Spire felt a moment of agonizing pain, then felt himself floating. He appeared to be in a dark abyss.

_So weak. So pathetic. The Last Diamont gave up at the moment he should have been strongest. You should've died fighting, not during your weakest moment. You've lost Diamont._ Spire looked up, searching for the source of the voice. The Dark Hunter grinned at him.

"What happened?" Spire whispered. The Dark Hunter smiled.

"Figure it out Diamont!" he sneered, and 2 Diamonts appeared in his place. One was an older male, the other an older female. They waved happily at him as he stared, sobbing softly. They were his parents, but weren't they dead? If he could see them...he was dead too?

"I'm dead?" Spire whispered, still crying softly. The Diamonts nodded and Spire walked towards them. They seemed to fade away as he approached, and he struggled to see them through the darkness. He was still alone. He always had been alone. He had lived alone, and now...he had died alone. As the darkness closed in on him, he wept.

Trace smiled as Spire's body went limp. There was no doubt he was dead. Everyone stared at the body of the last Diamont, then they all glared with hatred at Trace. Weavel lunged forward, and Trace's grin widened. A beam of light struck Weavel and he groaned in pain. His attempt to save Spire had now doomed him as well. His energy was gone, and as he collapsed, another beam hit him. Trace had shot him again!

He was floating...floating in the black abyss. He was no longer mechanical, but back to his true self, without the suit. His old self. Before the incident where he had been condemned to his mechanical self.

_Not as evil as you thought, were you? Risking your life for Spire. Your kindness has done what Space Pirates always said. Kindness dooms you. Looks like they were right._ Weavel jerked his head up, and glared at the Dark Hunter.

"Where am I?" Weavel asked, feeling defenseless without his Power Suit.

"How many idiots are there?" the Dark Hunter sneered, gesturing behind him. Weavel squinted and saw the Dark Hunter vanish, replaced with the silhouettes of his friends. The friends who had died to either save Weavel, or battle Samus Aran. The ones who died before their leader. The ones regretfully ordered to die.

Weavel felt overcome with emotion. Feelings he had never realized before. He was grieving. Grieving not for himself, but for those he had thought mattered. The ones who died during the wars with the Federation, with Samus. How insignificant those battles had been. How many lives had been lost. Why had he never cared before?

The silhouettes faded and Weavel yelled for them, begging them to return to him. There was no reply. No shout back. They had all left. The darkness began to close in on him, and he still yelled for them to return. At last, he gave in to his fate, and knew no more.

Author Note: Why do I get the feeling I'm going to receive hate mail?


	27. The Path Opens

Trace grinned nastily. He watched as the cybernetic pirate crumpled to the ground, unmoving. Served him right, trying to protect the last Diamont, and then trying to fight he greatest hunter in the universe. Noxus seemed too startled to speak.

Good the blabbermouth Vhozon finally shut up. Samus was looking shocked. Kanden's face had twisted into a combination of grief and rage. Trace smile widened. So, people cared whether the pirate had died. Pity, really. Weavel was powerful, but an idiot whose death was only a matter of time. Trace was pleased that he was the one to do it. Kanden glared at Trace, who glanced at him with amusement.

"You..." Kanden whispered, too furious to speak. Trace waited patiently, leering at the mutanted bug.

"I'll kill you, Kriken!" Kanden roared, lunging forward, Volt Driver firing. Trace cackled with glee as he dodged the shots. He leapt into the air, landing behind Kanden. With speed that surprised Trace, Kanden turned and fired another round of bolts. Trace lifted himself on one claw, and launched himself upwards, firing the Imperialist 20 feet overhead. Kanden ducked just in time, and fired his charged Volt Driver.

Trace morphed to Triskelion in midair, and the bolt missed his smaller alt-form. Before landing, Trace returned to biped, raising his weapon and firing. A flash of light, and Kanden yelled in pain as the Omega Cannon launched him into the pillar Samus was behind with great force. Kanden slid to the floor, limp.

His eyes fluttered and Trace smiled, raising the Imperialist. Noxus fired his Judicator, but Trace dodged, firing the Imperialist at Noxus instead, who ducked and fired again. Trace morphed to Triskelion and lunged into Noxus, who was shoved into the wall, falling to one knee. He charged his Judicator. If Trace was going to kill him, he'd die fighting. Like Weavel had died trying to fight. Trace fired his Imperialist at Kanden the beam striking the mutant's head.

Another golden light faded. Noxus stared in stunned silence. Only 3 lights remained. Noxus never liked Kanden, since he was an embodiment of evil. However, Trace was the greater of the two evils. Noxus resolved right then, that Trace must die. His crimes of cold-blooded murder could not be ignored. Noxus stood up and fired his Judicator. It was time for judgment.

Kanden felt himself floating. What an odd sensation...Kanden thought.

_Happy, Kanden? You've followed the path of self-destruction for years...now you see where it has brought you._

"What? Who's there?" Kanden yelled, looking for the source of the voice. He was in a huge black...abyss, being the only word he could think of to describe the absolute darkness. There was nothng his eyes could see. Until he saw the black armor of the Dark Hunter. Kanden stood, raising his weapon.

"What...?" Kanden stared at his empty hand. He had no weapon. He was also back to his original, unmutated self. He stared in surprise at his old body.

"I'm dead...aren't I?" Kanden asked. The Dark Hunter didn't reply immediately.

"Trace shot me...and I died..." Kanden said to himself. "Why?" Kanden asked the Dark Hunter.

"I'm not the one who controls the dead, Kanden. I'm mortal myself. I don't have reasons for why others die." the Dark Hunter laughed.

"Then why are you here?" Kanden demanded.

"I am the Dark Hunter, for obvious and subtle reasons. Obviously I corrupt people's minds in an attempt to make them stronger. When they fail, I meet them before they vanish into the world of the dead. You were mutated to be the strongest. In retaliation, you killed everyone involved, innocent and guilty alike. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you!" the Dark Hunter sneered. He vanished and the silhouettes of all the people killed at the research laboratory appeared in the distance.

They approached him slowly, and as their faces came into focus, Kanden recognized the manic looks of the scientists responsible for his creation. Kanden took a step back as he saw the innocents stare at him in hatred, sadness, an horror. All the people he had killed were here, glad he was dead, that their work had failed, so that no others would be harmed by his rampages.

"But I controlled my rampages a year ago!" Kanden protested, but the crowd of victims were silent. Their glares pierced Kanden like the Imperialist.

"I'm sorry!" Kanden begged, but they shook their heads angrily, some made rude gestures.

_It's too late, Kanden. They'll never forgive you. No one can ever forgive you. You should've controlled your path away from the one you chose. _The silhouettes remained, still glaring at Kanden. The Dark Hunter's voice echoed from Kanden's mind.

"Why do you do this?" Kanden demanded, angry. "You keep changing what you say! You preach using anger, but condemn those who do!" Kanden yelled.

_I preach controlling anger for power, not to be controlled by anger like you were! Samus wasn't very good at control either, but she was good at utilizing it! You were mindless, merely destroying everything! You're a fool Kanden, just like the 3 who died before you!_ Kanden stared at the silhouettes again, and wanted to show he was truly sorry, but none listened. The more he tried, the more hateful they were.

_Words are meaningless, Kanden. You'll be forever guilty of your past. Nothing can change it! _Kanden fell to the ground, pounding his fists on the invisible ground.

"Good-bye, Kanden." The Dark Hunter sneered. The silhouettes remained burned into Kanden's mind as the darkness closed in on him.

"Nooo! I'm sorry!" Kanden yelled at the silhouettes. Even as he lost all thoughts, he could still see the victims, furious at him, yet glad of his fate.

Noxus leapt at Trace, a fury like nothing he had ever known. Trace barely dodged the physical strike, and Noxus was too close to shoot with the Omega Cannon or Imperialist. Noxus slashed at Trace again, but Trace blocked with his forearm.

"So, Vhozon, you want to die?" Trace sneered. The comment made Noxus even more angry, and he fired his Judicator at Trace, who grunted, but slashed at Noxus with his claws. Noxus bellowed in pain as Trace swiped him across the face.

"Like it, Vhozon?" Trace hissed, slashing another gash in Noxus' face. Noxus charged his Judicator, and Trace leapt over Noxus, kicking his back and knocking Noxus to the ground. Trace aimed the Imperialist, and Noxus released his charge.

The Shadow Freeze froze Trace and Noxus fired the Judicator into Trace's head. Trace broke from the ice, weakened by the shots. Noxus fired again and Trace knew he was finished. The bolt struck Trace and he collapsed weakly to the ground. Noxus placed the Judicator against Trace's head.

"Justice is served, Kriken." Noxus whispered. Trace looked shocked a moment and Noxus squeezed the trigger. A black energy bolt struck Noxus' Judicator, encasing it in a black goo. The firing was jammed. Noxus was startled and stared in confusion. Trace looked startled and relieved. Noxus thrust his Judicator upon Trace's head, intending on smashing Trace to death. Another black bolt knocked Noxus aside with considerable force and Noxus hit the floor, stunned.

The Judicator's jam vanished and a shadow appeared between Trace and Noxus. Samus stood up and ran over to Noxus.

"You okay?" she asked. Noxus grunted and stood up. The shadow became a black pool of goo and from it emerged the Dark Hunter.

"Not bad, Vhozon!" The Dark Hunter sneered.

"Why'd you do that?" Noxus demanded. Trace had gotten to his feet, and the Dark Hunter ignored him.

"Righteousness never triumphs, Vhozon," the Dark Hunter replied.

"You'll die coward." Noxus retorted.

"Funny, I'd knew you'd make such an idle threat. How can you kill me. You're weak, weak as the Kriken Empire."

"That makes no sense!" Noxus snapped.

"Oh...you forgot how weak the Kriken Empire is. Let's just say that the Kriken Empire is the third weakest civilzations in the universe. Just above the Diamonts and the Vhozons!" The Dark Hunter sneered.

"There are no more Diamonts, and the Vhozons and the Kriken Empire are strong." Noxus said testily.

"Really? Then the Kriken Empire is only stronger than the Vhozons, since the Diamonts cease to live. Have the Vhozons beaten the Kriken Empire?" the Dark Hunter mocked.

"No." Noxus admitted.

"Have the Krikens beaten the Vhozons?"

"Yes." Noxus muttered.

"Couldn't catch that." The Dark Hunter laughed.

"YES!" Noxus yelled.

"And the Krikens have lost to almost every other race, so therefore the Krikens are the second weakest..."

"SHUT UP!" Trace bellowed in rage. The Dark Hunter cackled malevolently.

"Make me, Kriken! Afraid of the truth? Ashamed that the Empire has lost dozens of wars? Saddened that you are nothing more than an overly ambitious bug?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Trace screamed again. Samus looked confused, but knew that this was all going downhill. She knew that the Krikens hadn't lost a war for over 100 years, but before then they lost almost constantly. Their first major victory had been at Vho, although they left that a decade later. It was great humiliation to Krikens to remind them of their poor start, since they had such a superb reputation now. In fact, any race that dared mention it abruptly vanished, and a new Kriken territory was established.

Trace fired his Imperialist at the Dark Hunter, who fired his Goo Gun. The beams connected and began the usual struggle as the Goo Gun copied the power and abilities of the weapon it was battling. Noxus fired at the Dark Hunter as well, furious at the crude reference to Vhozons. The Judicator seemed to do almost no damage to the Dark Hunter. Samus noticed something odd. The golden lights above the vault to the True Power had changed again. It wasn't up to 4...it was down to 1.

"How?" she whispered. _None can proceed until 1 remains._ The Dark Hunter, she remembered, was immune to sensors of all sorts, so that explained why the lights hadn't gone up...but why did they go down? It hit her. The remaining hunters were fighting together. One team, one intention. The door slid open soundlessly as she approached, looking back at the fight between the Dark Hunter, Noxus and Trace. No one noticed as she entered the passage leading to the True Power.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	28. The Darkness Overcome

Samus entered the passage leading to the True Power. Excitement and fear flooded through her. The True Power...what all the hunters had looked for. What she had been sent to destroy. She reached the end of the passageway and entered a small room.

In the center of the room was a blue beam of light, which gave the entire room a blue glow. The beam was concentrated on a pedestal, where an object rested. Samus approached the pedestal, and reached for the object. She half expected an alarm, a forcefield, or some form of security, but there was nothing. Why should there be? The Shrine was so heavily protected that the likelihood of anyone reaching this spot was slim to none.

After examining the object, she scanned it. '**Hyper Beam weapon**: This beam has intense offensive purposes and is not as volatile as the Omega Cannon.' Samus wondered why this weapon was so powerful, and nevertheless downloaded it to her arm cannon. She felt a sense of warmth, unlike the cold chill she usually associated with the Omega Cannon. She half-ran to the exit to return to the battle room. She gasped upon entry. Noxus was injured, but Trace and the Dark Hunter were still battling Imperialist vs Goo Gun, although the Goo Gun was winning.

Noxus returned to his feet, staring at Samus in astonishment, seeing where she had arrived from.

"You got it?" Noxus said in alarm. Trace glanced over, a look of fury on his face. He broke the connection of Imperialist and Goo Gun and fired the Omega Cannon at Samus, who raced back to the pillar and sheltered herself from the blast. Noxus had followed and also was sheltered.

"Take them together?" Noxus asked.

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Samus responded. They burst out from behind the pillar, Samus firing missiles (the Hyper Beam was 80 downloaded) and Noxus fired his Judicator. The Dark Hunter gestured and the missiles exploded, as if hitting an invisible barrier. The Judicator shot missed Trace, and missed the rebound.

Samus fired again, one missile striking Trace, knocking him to the ground, the other perfectly aimed at the Dark Hunter, who seemed to melt, then reform as a giant circle. The missile went through the hole. Samus stared in shock.

"This Dark Armor I wear grants me special powers, Samus! My weapon is stronger, I'm immune to all weaponry, the Omega Cannon being the closest thing to a weakness, and this special armor also gives me invisibility in shadows and shapeshifting powers!" the Dark Hunter snickered.

"The Dark Armor does all that?" Noxus asked, amused. The Dark Hunter looked completely bemused at the odd statement coupled with Noxus' amusement.

"Yes." The Dark Hunter replied, suspicious.

"So, under the armor, you're just a weak coward with no power?" Noxus explained. The Dark Hunter glared at Noxus.

"You could say that, Vhozon!"

"Those tricks don't work. Compared to you, I am one of the most significant beings around. You're aren't that strong, you've just got a special little suit that makes you stronger." Noxus said coldly.

"So? Samus does the same thing."

"The suit doesn't give super powers, it just amplifies her abilities, so they aren't as exhausting to utilize over and over again. You're not skilled, you're just a pathetic coward!" Noxus retorted. The Dark Hunter was silent a moment.

"Kill him, Trace." He said coldly. Trace happily raised the Imperialist as black energy bound Noxus. Noxus was surprisingly calm.

"Ready, Samus?" he asked, nodding his head to her arm cannon. She nodded and fired. A single beam of incredible force, glowing white, fired from her arm cannon. There was no recoil, just the beam. Trace's eye widened in shock as the beam struck him, blasting him off his feet, slamming into the wall.

"You picked the losing side, Trace." Noxus said coldly, and the black energy faded. Trace stared at Samus in amazement, but the Dark Hunter laughed coldly.

"The True Power...now you've tested it on the loser, try it on me. My Dark Armor will remain intact. Nothing can harm it!" The Dark Hunter stared at her, silently challenging her to try her luck. He planned to absorb the power of the True Power using his Goo Gun, and then end her existence. Samus didnt hesitate, and her speed alarmed him. One beam struck him in the chest, shoving him roughly to the ground. He groaned involuntarily and got back up, firing his Goo Gun as Samus fired the Hyper Beam again. The projectiles connected, but the energy of the Hyper Beam was too strong for the first copying attempt, and the goo shattered as easily as a toothpick. The Dark Hunter smirked, as if unconcerned.

"Even with the True Power, I'm still invincible. Don't fight the inevitable. Rather than lose your life, just give in to the knowledge of strength. The only way to kill me is to let your anger go, power the True Power with your rage. If you don't, I'll kill you. Do or die, Samus."

Samus ignored the temptation. She had no rage. She was herself, and she would fight her way. She raised the Hyper Beam and fired again, but this time, the Dark Hunter's Goo Gun successfully countered the beam, and both struggled for their weapon to triumph. Noxus fired his Judicator at the Dark Hunter, but there was no damage.

"You can't stop me, Vhozon. This is the strongest Dark Armor in the universe!" The Dark Hunter laughed. A red beam struck him in the chest, but he didn't even stagger.

"Nice try Kriken...but it's still not good enough!" The Dark Hunter laughed.

"Then how about this?" Trace yelled, and he and Noxus fired simultaneously, and the Dark Hunter still shook it off.

"Getting warmer, but you're still too weak! When my gun finishes Samus, you're dead!" He gestured and the exit door sealed. The Hyper Beam was pushed back an inch as the goo began to copy the power of the weapon. It was very hard to copy a weapon that was that much stronger.

"It's over, Samus Aran! You've lost, and no one can help you! The door is sealed, and no one will come to your defense!" The Dark Hunter was laughing until a burst of energy struck him from behind.

"No one huh? I don't count?" said the cold voice of Sylux.

"You're dead!" Noxus yelled.

"I thought so too! I was just knocked out." Sylux said, focusing on draining the Dark Hunter, who looked startled. Apparently, the Dark Hunter thought he was dead, also.

"Still not enough!" The Dark Hunter mocked. Everyone looked at the bodies of Weavel, Spire, and Kanden, but none of them twitched. As the Shock Coil intensified, the Dark Hunter scowled as the Imperialist and Judicator continued to strike him.

"You'll never beat me...I'm too powerful!" the Dark Hunter cackled as the goo pushed the Hyper beam back another inch. Samus felt ready to give in, but forced herself to continue.

"Give up, Samus! You're finished!" the Dark Hunter crowed.

"So...you do change what you say. You still said that I should've died fighting, yet you tell your enemies to give in!" said the harsh voice of Spire. Trace shrieked in horror and the Dark Hunter looked mortified.

"You're dead!" Everyone said simultaneously.

"Almost...but alive!" Spire whispered, unable to stand yet.

"Hypocrite!" Kanden's voice called from across the room. Everyone stared at the revived hunters. Weavel remained dead...if he was dead. No one knew what to believe. The Dark Hunter was looking afraid, an expression Trace noticed with pleasure.

"They were illusions...weren't they. What we saw at our death...WEREN'T THEY?!" Weavel's voice screamed in fury. He had also revived.

"You manipulating bastard!" Spire raged. The Dark Hunter looked terrified.

"YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DEAD SO YOU CREATED IMAGES OF PEOPLE WE KNEW!" Weavel bellowed. Trace watched this interesting development. Spire's face was enraged, Kanden looked murderous, but that was nothing new.

"Of course..." the Dark Hunter sneered. Silence a moment.

"How'd you figure out they were illusions?" the Dark Hunter sneered.

"You can read thoughts, and shapeshift. You weren't visible whenever the illusions were." Weavel snapped.

"Yet you believed it!" The Dark Hunter mocked, as the goo pushed the Hyper Beam back another inch.

"Until I realized I wasn't dead!" Spire hissed furiously.

"Oh well...now you will die for real!" The Dark Hunter broke the connection and quickly flung his arms from his body, so he appeared to be spread-eagle. A massive energy force pulsed, knocking all the hunters to the ground. The Dark Hunter flipped a switch on his weapon and fired. Samus fired her Hyper Beam, which, to everyone's shock, melted the Goo Gun. The Dark Hunter stared in shock.

"Everyone, together!" Trace yelled, and a burst of green, a streak of red, a ball of red, a spear of purple, a beam of blue, and an orb of yellow struck the Dark Hunter, and he smirked coldly.

"Not good enough!" He cackled evilly. A beam of white fired from Samus, striking the Dark Hunter in the chest and he yelled out in shock and pain. There was a terrific cracking noise and the Dark Hunter was flung against the wall.

As the dust cleared, the 7 hunters stood around the fallen Dark Hunter. The helmet of the hunter was dented, and most of his main armor had cracked. He stared up at them, a defiant smile on his face.

"Now what?" he whispered.

"Who are you?" Noxus demanded. The Dark Hunter groaned and removed the helmet. He was a human, with a gaunt pale face. His eyes were sunken and red. Sylux stared at him in wonder.

"What happened to you?" Sylux breathed. The cold grin didn't fade.

"Sylux...I had the suit for over 10 years. It can change you in ways few have every experienced. The longer you have it, the stronger the hold it has on you." He glanced at his shattered armor, which was already beginning to fix itself. Trace watched curiously a moment before every opened fire again, except Samus.

The armor, although weakened, still defended against the barrage. The Dark Hunter melted and reformed behind them.

"You're all weak!" The Dark Hunter sneered. "And all of you will die!" Black energy managed to bind Noxus, Sylux, Spire, and Weavel. Trace, Samus, and Kanden stared in surprise, but as they watched, more black energy bound Kanden and the bindings began to tighten. Trace groaned in frustration and glanced at Samus. She nodded. They aimed their weapons at the Dark Hunter and fired. A flash of light, and a beam of white struck the Dark Hunter, who shrieked in agony, his suit still not fully repaired.

The bindings on the other hunters shattered, and they all fired upon the Dark Hunter. Another flash of light and beam and they heard the shattering sound of the Dark Armor's last moments of existence. The dust settled at last, and the Dark Hunter was on all fours, panting. He was paler than Arcterra's snow, and his eyes still glowed red. He looked up at the 7 hunters with cold amusement.

"It's not over...the Dark League will rise again. You can't stop what's meant to be..."

With a last shuddering breath, he whispered. "You were right...Noxus. About everything." His eyes dulled and he collapsed to the floor. The Dark Armor had merged so much with his body systems, that he was unable to live while it was destroyed.

There was a prolonged silence as the hunters stared at the body of their true enemy. The Dark Hunter had been human until becoming merged with the Dark Armor. After 10 years, he ceased to be fully human. The body withered and became dust as Trace fired his Imperialist, eradicating the remains.

"We're done here." Trace said with finality. Spire cringed, but Trace did not attack him.

"So...the hunt's over?" Weavel asked.

"Yeah...Samus got the True Power." Noxus said quietly. Everyone except Trace and Samus groaned. Spire noticed that, but was still trying to avoid attention to himself while Trace was present.

"So...mission accomplished, eh Samus?" Noxus asked. She shook her head. Noxus stared at her questioningly.

"I've got one more objective. Trace...I challenge you to another rematch!"

TO BE CONTINUED...


	29. Mission Accomplished

There was a stunned silence after this challenge. Trace looked startled even more then the other hunters. After some consideration, Trace nodded.

"We'll have the battle at the Duel Stadium." Samus said. Trace agreed, suspicious of her goal. All the hunters (Spire keeping his distance from the Kriken Sniper ship) flew to the Duel Stadium. Trace followed Samus into the stadium and they stood in the center of the arena. Spire sat by Noxus on a higher level, while Sylux and Kanden stood closer to the ground floor. Weavel watched from his ship's recovery station, since he had been the most damaged of the hunters.

Samus and Trace walked to opposite ends of the field and prepared to duel.

"Begin!" Kanden called. Both hunters watched the other, then immediately sprung into action. Trace fired an Imperialist, and it streaked past Samus' arm. Samus unleashed a small hail of missiles, and Trace grunted as he was caught in the blast radius. First hit: Samus. Trace morphed to Triskelion in the confusion of the missile smoke and turned invisible.

When the smoke did clear, everyone started murmuring. Samus charged her missiles. She looked carefully for a hint of his wherabouts before firing. The missile curved towards his location, and he lunged foward to dodge it, returning to biped and firing his Shock Coil. Samus, surprised by the weapon change, was forced to go the morph ball to escape, but a missile hit her. She willingly left her morph ball before the Alt-Disabling missile could do it for her, and ducked an Imperialist shot.

She fired Volt Driver shots to confuse Trace, but Trace responded by going to Triskelion and lunging at her. She jumped over his lunges and fired missiles at the ground below. Trace returned to biped and fired the Shock Coil as she descended, weakening her relatively quickly. Samus fired a Magmaul at close range, burning Trace, who yelled as the magma scalded him. Samus fired an Imperialist, and Trace dodged, firing his own beam.

Samus dove backwards, landing on her back, but rolling back to her feet expertly. Trace was impressed by her maneuvers, but he'd still win. He had the Omega Cannon, although she had the Hyper Beam. He fired Battlehammer rounds to try to get her to the area he wanted, but she recognized the danger and rolled forward, firing another Imperialist shot. Trace yelled in pain as the beam pierced his leg.

"Come on, Trace. You can do better!" Samus said, laughing. Trace scowled and fired his Imperialist, but a twinge in his leg made him buckle, and the beam missed by an inch.

Samus circled Trace. The duel was intense, and they were so evenly matched. She was waiting for him to use the Omega Cannon. Her mission wouldn't end until the Omega Cannon and Hyper Beam were destroyed. She had a plan on how to destroy it, and she needed Trace to shoot the Cannon. At that moment, she would strike, destroying the Omega Cannon and the Hyper Beam in one blast. It was only a matter of time.

She fired her own Battlehammer shots, and Trace leapt out of range, the bolts undershooting. Trace fired his Volt Driver shots so rapidly that Samus was struck by 3 before dodging the rest. She was as strong as ever, but had to bait the Omega Cannon. She smiled to herself as she equipped the Hyper Beam. She fired. The bright beam fired, striking Trace squarely in the chest. His eye bulged in shock and he slammed into the stadium wall, panting.

"Playing that way? Take this!" he snapped. He fired the Omega Cannon and watched with satisfaction as it flew at her. She fired another Hyper Beam, and the projectiles struck each other. Both hunters watched nervously, hoping their projectile would win. Samus aimed her Hyper Beam carefully. She fired and the beam lanced out, striking Trace's arm cannon.

Trace stared at his cannon in horror, for the beam had been so powerful it disabled his arm cannon and also demolished the equipped weapon, the Omega Cannon. Trace glared at Samus as she withdrew the Hyper Beam and threw it into the projectiles that still were struggling to overcome the other. Trace's eye widened in amazement as Samus then fired a missile into the Omega Cannon projectile, creating a blinding explosion.

The explosion was so powerful, that the stadium shook forcibly. Trace growled as the energy emitted from the blast sent him flying into the stands, and Samus was thrown in the opposite direction. Weavel gasped from his ship, as his screen had turned pure white. Spire, Noxus, Kanden and Sylux all moaned as the energy smashed into the stands, creating a force that destroyed most of the stands. The dust slowly settled, and the destruction of the stadium was complete. The stands and field looked like a tornado had struck.

The 6 hunters in the stadium stared around in awe. Trace staggered back to the field and collapsed a few moments later.

"Good duel...Samus!" he whispered. "I admit defeat." he moaned. Samus nodded.

"And now my mission is done, as both the Omega Cannon and Hyper Beam are destroyed." she said. Trace looked shocked.

"You intended to do that?" he asked, stunned. Samus nodded.

"Why?" Kanden asked, making his way to the field.

"It was my objective was to destroy both. Look at the damage they did during this hunt. In our eagerness to get it, we were willing to destroy, kill, abduct, terrorize, betray everyone and everything. There will never be true peace with either of them around. So I was ordered to destroy them. I'm glad they're gone. We'll meet again, I'm sure." she said, turnng to leave.

"Samus...we'll duel again. I'll beat you then!" Trace called after her. Samus nodded, then did a mock salute with her arm cannon. Trace grinned and slowly got to his feet, staring at his useless arm cannon.

"I'm guessing that means I'm safe?" Spire whispered loudly. Trace smirked.

"Better run, Diamont! My bro still put a bounty on you!" His smile ruined the otherwise terrifying words. Spire nodded, knowing that Trace would still hunt him. He left, Kanden not far behind.

Noxus stared at Trace a few moments before asking, "Why did the Empire leave Vho?" Trace was visibly startled by the question.

"Why?" Trace asked.

"I've been dying to know." Noxus responded. Sylux had hesitated at the doorway, curious.

"The Empire never captured Vho. Most Vhozons thought they had lost the war, so they stopped resisting. The Empire decided Vho was inhabitable to Krikens, and left. Technically, the Empire never controlled Vho, and they have no interest in it. This was over 100 years ago, and exiles for the rite of passage are told to ignore Vho unless there's a new development they should know of." Trace said.

"History is wrong for the Vhozons. The Vhozons still think the Kriken Empire owns Vho." Noxus said.

Trace shook his head. "They don't care."

Noxus nodded. Sylux and Noxus left and Trace smiled sinisterly. He signaled his Kriken Sniper and recharged his arm cannon. He double-checked his weapon status.

Battlehammer- OK.

Volt Driver- OK

Judicator- OK

Magmaul-OK

Imperialist- OK

Shock Coil- ERROR.

Omega Cannon- OK.

He snickered. Samus was an idiot. She assumed she had destroyed the Omega Cannon because he had fired it last. She had forgotten that he swapped weapons almost everytime he fired. Lucky for him...Unlucky for the Universe.

Author Note: Haha! Like the twist? This fanfic is over, but I will create a sequel to end this story line, but it won't be updated as regularly as this one was. Feel free to contact me with questions, ideas, etc. Please review this story. Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you've enjoyed it.


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